


Losing my mind

by AGiantNerd



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Humor, By the end of this fic everyone will be tired, Cause I suck at tagging, Dream Sharing, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, I like the way this one is going better, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Sleep Deprivation, Tell me what other tags to add, trust me - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 50,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28985196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGiantNerd/pseuds/AGiantNerd
Summary: Hero, Kel, Aubrey, and Basil know that the dream world they are in is not their own. Who is Omori? Why does he look like Sunny? And why is Mari there?(My rewrite of Dream your dream or find the truth but with a different plot. Based on this:  https://dearestchiomi.tumblr.com/post/640364846842626048/so-guess-who-came-up-with-a-stupid-omori-au)
Relationships: Aubrey & Basil & Hero & Kel & Mari & Sunny (OMORI), Aubrey & Basil & Hero & Kel & Sunny (OMORI), Hero/Mari (OMORI), Mari & Sunny (OMORI)
Comments: 380
Kudos: 915





	1. Beginning of the dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, look! Two chapters just for you! Hope you enjoy it!

Hero felt like he was lucid dreaming. He hasn’t had a lucid dream since he was a child so it was off-putting, to say the least. He looked down at his hands to see he was holding a pair of cards. It was an awful hand, Hero could tell that with a look. He noticed Kel was sitting in front of him, staring at his cards as well. Aubrey sat nearby, holding her cards to her chest as if to hide them.

They all looked weird. Hero was wearing what looked like striped pajamas to him. Kel wore this weird shirt that looked like a bunch of colorful squares were shining on it. Aubrey had on what looked to be a nightgown and a blue-purplish bow on her head.

They even had items Hero could tell belonged to them nearby. A purple doll that for the life of Hero he couldn’t remember the name of. Kel was sitting next to a strange colored ball while Hero had a spatula. He had to wonder why any of them were going to need these items but decided to just roll with it.

Honestly, this gave him a nostalgic feeling. Everything felt like it was real, even though that their surroundings were colorful. It honestly looked like something out of a fever dream than his normal dreams with the colors everywhere, not like he was complaining though. 

“Hey, I know this question is going to sound weird but where are we?” Kel randomly spoke up. 

“I was wondering that as well,” Aubrey muttered.

“Oh, so we’re all just randomly playing cards not knowing how we got here?” Hero spoke up with a tiny laugh.

“Guess so…?” Kel trailed off, something suddenly felt wrong. It was as if they weren’t meant to be self-aware of their surroundings.

Suddenly a white door on the other side of the room opened up to reveal a face Hero hasn’t seen in a long time, he could barely remember what they looked like. Though unlike Aubrey and Kel, who looked like younger versions of themselves, the person who walked out was black and white with a dead facial expression.

“Um, hello?” Hero decided to try to talk to the familiar face, he, for some reason could not remember their name.

The child waved back and proceeded to sit down next to them, not uttering a word.

“W-we were getting bored of cards, we should head out and explore.” Kel awkwardly got up, not wanting to be near the boy. For some reason, he feels...off. 

Everyone followed Kel and got up. The child however began walking away and up some stairs with a snake laying on it.

“Ssssssss (Ḩ̴̭̝̲̿̅̾̾̓͑̚e̸̡̞̓͆̇̍ḁ̸̥̰̞͕͈̺̓͛̆̉͒͝d̵̡̟̘̋̑͒i̵͇̼̜̳͐̈́̏̕͘n̶͚͓̯̼͓̙̈́ḡ̶̛͈̏͒͛ ̴̨̢͚͕̟̙͋͌̿͊̕͝͝o̷̭̖̬̣̝̗͔̓u̵̢̮̗̟̫̹̔̽̃͛̓̀͒ͅt̸͍̾̒,̴̡̧̟̳̤͍̜͊̆͗̏̚ ̶̛͎̙̖̮̮̲̑̐̋̄͝O̸͙̤̯͗̇̔̆̕͠͝ͅm̵̬͌o̸̺̣͍͐͋͌̿͝ͅr̷̛̭̮͑͂͐̅͒i̷̛̛͚̞̺͈̅̈́̆͘?̶̡̛̛͓̮̖̣̞͐̆͂̑̚)” The snake spoke but no one understood. 

Well everyone except the boy didn’t understand as the snake spoke to him a bit more before handing him 50...clams? Hero wasn’t going to question it, dreams were weird like that.

He climbed out and watched as the others did as well. Aubrey somehow managed to get stuck while climbing out and Kel proceeded to laugh at her.

“Kel! Stop laughing and help me!” Aubrey shouted.

Kel, still laughing, walked over and grabbed Aubrey’s hand before pulling her up. “Took ya long enough!”

“Gee sorry, not my fault you got stuck.” Kel stuck out his tongue.

Aubrey, instead of taking Kel seriously, proceeded to flip him off.

Kel let out a fake gasp, “Rude! Manners were thrown away, huh?” 

Aubrey was about to swing a punch straight into Kel’s jaw before Hero stopped her. “Please don’t punch my brother.” He sighed.

Aubrey sighed as well and turned away from Kel, “You get to live another day.”

“I am flattered.” Kel laughed as Aubrey rolled her eyes.

The child began to walk ahead, not caring about what the others were saying or doing. He made his way to a playground with everyone following him behind. He turned his head to spot a picnic area with a girl that had dark purple hair on top of it.

Hero couldn’t believe his eyes, it was going to be one of those dreams again, wasn’t it. The one where he spots Mari somewhere with his friends and she turns towards him with black, void-like eyes, begging him to save her. 

He never could.

This Mari however did not immediately have her eyes go pitch black, instead, she waved the group over. Hero approached cautiously, along with Kel and Aubrey. The boy however immediately ran to her side.

“Omori! It has been a while since we talked, hasn’t it?” Mari asked the boy. So his name was Omori? It sounded...familiar. Hero couldn’t place why, though he could have sworn that wasn’t the boy’s name at all.

“Oh! Hello everyone! It is nice to see you again! How has your day been?” Mari asked.

“Um, well, we played cards! That was fun!” Kel began, hoping no one would be able to tell how nervous he was.

“Really? I bet you were winning Kel, Hero is awful at cards.” Mari teased.

“Hey! I am not that bad...am I?” Hero asked himself. He was glad nothing bad had happened yet. Though he is just waiting for this dream to get dark. All of his dreams do after all. 

“To be honest, you suck, a lot.” Kel grinned.

“Has anyone seen Basil? We were going to make some more flower crowns today but I haven’t seen him anywhere…” Mari trailed off, looking around to see if she could spot the flower boy.

“Maybe he is at his house?” Aubrey spoke up. Why did it sound like she didn’t want to see Basil though?

Mari nor Omori seemed to notice, “Great idea Aubrey! You guys can go find him while I set up this picnic!” Mari grinned. Hero could feel his heart in his chest, though the pain of remembering that this is a dream began to hurt more.

Omori moved away from Mari and moved south of the playground. He stopped suddenly however and looked at a floating mirror. Hero and the others stood behind Omori and gave him a supportive smile. The boy however only faced down and began walking out of the playground.

The trio followed Omori as he walked downwards past a couple of mini gardens filled with plants. Hero wasn’t educated that much on plants only recognizing some like Sunflowers, Cactus, and Roses. They were really pretty to look at though.

Omori suddenly ran forward and Hero looked ahead to see Mari with another picnic set up, “Oh hey guys! I figured you might get hungry so I brought you all snacks!” She smiled brightly as she held up some food for everyone to enjoy. He wondered how she even got there but decided not to question it.

She handed some to everyone and they began chowing down. The food tasted the same way Mari used to make it. It honestly made Hero’s heart ache more. Is this the universe’s way of torturing him?

“Thanks for the food, Mari!” Kel grinned before everyone got up again, “Now let’s go see Basil!”

The group walked forward again this time through a straight line leading to a giant lump in the ground. Omori walked around to reveal that the lump was a cave.

“Ooh, it’s big in here! Echo!” Kel screamed startling everyone but Omori.

“Kel! Gee, I am sure Basil knows we are here now…” Aubrey sighed.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Kel asked.

“Yes, but you didn’t have to kill our eardrums…” Hero groaned.

“Well, where is the fun in that?” Kel laughed.

The group finally arrived at Basil’s house which was just a giant shoe surrounded by a tiny moat. It honestly looked peaceful. Hero did find it a little funny that Basil lived in a shoe of all things though.

Omori walked forward and didn’t even bother knocking on the door before entering.

“Omori! You shouldn’t just-” - “AHH!” Basil’s sudden scream ran out as he landed on the floor, apparently unaware of them in the cave.

He took in a deep breath before looking at the group, “Please knock next time…” Basil sighed out as he stood up. “Honestly, you scared me half to death!”

Basil looked a little different, wearing overalls and having teal like hair. He was also wearing a proper flower crown which looked professionally done.

Omori gave an apologetic look which was the first time he has seen any emotion on the boy’s face. Basil was holding a photo album to his chest tightly like if he loosened up the book would fly away. 

“Oh sweet! Your photo album is out? Can we take a look?” Kel asked, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently.

“Um, yeah, you can look.” Basil nervously handed it over. He immediately sat down on his bed as Kel opened it up. Hero, Aubrey, and Omori walked over and looked inside of the book as well. It looked near identical to the one in the real world, the only differences being some words when describing the events and the fact all the photos were taking place in the dream world. 

Kel handed back the photo album, thanking Basil for letting him look before a photo suddenly fell out.

The sudden feeling of a chill ran down Hero’s spine as Basil picked up the photograph. Basil looked at the photo and his eyes went wide and red. Hero knew this good dream wouldn’t last. It never did.

**“MARI…SHE DIDN'T-”**

Basil didn’t get to finish his sentence as Hero’s mind suddenly flashed to a broken violin at the bottom of a staircase. Before Hero could even process what that meant, he woke up in his college dorm room.

He shot up and held his chest before taking in a deep breath. He didn’t know what he was expecting, nightmares plagued his dreams for a long time. Though this was the first time he dreamt of anything like that. He wondered what the violin meant, maybe he could search it up? 

Later, he decided. He will search it up later. Right now he needs to try his best to go back to sleep. He needs to be well-rested to get ready to go to Faraway.


	2. We need to find Basil!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kel's POV for dream 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad you are still reading.

Kel groaned to himself as he laid awake in bed. He groaned to himself, “Ugh, come on Kel, I thought we were done with these nightmares 3 years ago.”

Kel shuffled around so he laid on the side that allowed him to look at Hero’s bed, “Bet you don’t dream any of this stupid stuff anymore.” he grumbled. He had a ton of questions like why did Omori look so familiar? He swears he knows that face from somewhere. His brain must be too tired to remember. What did that broken violin mean though? 

Whatever, Kel can search it up in the morning. Probably weird dream symbolism.

He tightly closed his eyes, hoping he could fall back to sleep. It worked. Kel fell right back to sleep as if nothing had happened, everything was pitch black.

That was until a few minutes later when he opened his eyes to see that he was in the pastel world yet again. Aubrey and Hero sat nearby like last time but they weren’t holding cards against each other.

Kel let out a sigh and quietly berated his brain for putting him in the same dream as last time.

“Here again?” Aubrey groaned to herself, “Didn’t I just have a dream here?”

“Wait, what do you mean dream?” Hero asked the girl.

“Oh right, you wouldn’t understand Dream Hero. In fact, why am I dreaming of you?” She pointed accusingly.

“Wait, I thought this was my dream?” Kel looked around confused.

“...You gotta be kidding.” Aubrey sighed.

“Are we all dreaming right now?” Hero asked.

“God I hope not, who would want to share a dream with Kel?” Aubrey grunted.

Just then the white door opened again revealing Omori. He somehow looks more tired and dead than last time.

“Hey Omori, where are we heading now?” Kel asked.

Omori gave no answers, only continued till he faced the snake on the stairs again. 

“Sssss (Ḩ̴̭̝̲̿̅̾̾̓͑̚e̸̡̞̓͆̇̍ḁ̸̥̰̞͕͈̺̓͛̆̉͒͝d̵̡̟̘̋̑͒i̵͇̼̜̳͐̈́̏̕͘n̶͚͓̯̼͓̙̈́ḡ̶̛͈̏͒͛ ̴̨̢͚͕̟̙͋͌̿͊̕͝͝o̷̭̖̬̣̝̗͔̓u̵̢̮̗̟̫̹̔̽̃͛̓̀͒ͅt̸͍̾̒,̴̡̧̟̳̤͍̜͊̆͗̏̚ ̶̛͎̙̖̮̮̲̑̐̋̄͝O̸͙̤̯͗̇̔̆̕͠͝ͅm̵̬͌o̸̺̣͍͐͋͌̿͝ͅr̷̛̭̮͑͂͐̅͒i̷̛̛͚̞̺͈̅̈́̆͘?̶̡̛̛͓̮̖̣̞͐̆͂̑̚)” The snake spoke again. 

Kel didn’t know where Omori put the clams but for some reason, he felt like he didn’t need to know. Dreams were wacky like that.

They managed to get out of the stump again, this time without anyone getting stuck. “Don’t need my help this time Aubrey?” Kel teased.

“You are this close to getting my fist in your head.” She threatened.

“Guys please calm down.” Hero tried to stop the fight.

Kel and Aubery groaned and looked away from each other.

Omori walked straight again, this time reaching to grab something no one else could see. He turned around to motion the group over.

He headed into the playground and Mari was at her picnic basket yet again. “Hello everyone! Have any of you seen Basil? I know you guys went to his house a few minutes ago…” Mari trailed off.

Wait, was this a continuation of the previous dream? That is the first time this ever happened to Kel though.

“Maybe you guys can check out his house again? I am worried about him…” Mari asked politely. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and they were off, rushing back down to Basil’s house to see if he was okay. 

On the way down however there were these little moles with sprouts on the top of their heads. Kel realized he was suddenly holding a colored ball like the one he held last time in the dream world. Aubrey had her doll at the ready and Hero was holding his spatula defensively.

None of the weapons they had was particularly useful Kel felt like these were barely going to work. Kel looked towards Omori and his eyes widened when he saw the boy was holding a kitchen knife that looked as sharp as Hero’s charm.

Omori ran forward and slashed at the enemy leaving a dent in them but surprisingly not killing them. Kel decided to follow Omori’s example and throw his ball at the being. It was knocked backward but with a grunt, it got back up. 

Hero did the next attack, beating the enemy on the head a few times before the enemy jumped up and kicked him, sending Hero backward.

Aubrey was next as she slammed her doll into the creature causing it to disappear out of thin air, almost like it never existed.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad.” Hero spoke up, slightly rubbing his cheek. 

“Pff you got kicked.” Kel laughed.

“Shush, we need to focus.” Hero scolded. Kel in response stuck out his tongue.

“Wow, very mature of you.” Hero rolled his eyes as he followed Omori forward to the cave that leads to Basil’s house.

“You're just jealous ‘cause I am awesome.” Kel teased as he and Aubrey follow behind.

They made it to Basil’s house and knocked politely on the door this time. However, there was no response.

“Guess he ain’t home.” Aubrey shrugged, ready to walk away before Omori opened the door once again.

In the middle of the room stood something pitch black with one eye. Everyone minus Omori felt a shiver go down their spine as it turned towards them. Realizing it could be seen the being disappeared without a trace. 

Omori seemed to not care about the shadow being, only looking around and shrugged when he found nothing.

“Well, that was a bust. Let’s go somewhere else. Please.” Kel silently begged. He didn’t want the shadow being to show up again.

The rest of the group seemed to agree. On the way back they ran into Mari who was sitting in her normal spot with a picnic basket nearby. “I am guessing you didn’t find Basil…” She sighed. 

Omori walked towards the basket and sat down next to it. The others surrounded Mari, “Yeah, he wasn’t in his house. Do you have any idea where else he could be?” Kel asked.

Mari hummed to herself before snapping her fingers, “Oh! Maybe you could travel to Otherworld! Omori should have a map, don’t ya?” Mari turned to Omori. 

Omori conveniently pulled out a giant map of the land and gave it to Mari. Mari was able to map out the area where they needed to go and handed it to the others. “Oh, Otherworld is another world, that seems like a lot of climbing,” Kel muttered.

Omori seemed to stiffen at the mention of climbing, “Oh Omori! I forgot you are afraid of heights.” Mari sighed.

“He is? Huh, he looks like nothing fazes him.” Kel mumbled but he went unheard.

“Oh, don’t worry Omori! We’ll be there to help!” Hero tried to comfort the boy. Kel doesn’t know why but this situation felt...familiar...his brain couldn’t place it.

Oh well, it seemed like this group was off to another world.


	3. Otherworld Pt1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omori and friends in Otherworld!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear if I misspelled Aubrey I will snap. Also, I updated chapter 2 to have a scene where Omori grabs a letter key, it's only two lines but if you wanna check it out be my guest.

The ladder leading up to Otherworld was long. Omori stood at the base of the ladder, still as a rock. “Come on Omori, it ain’t going to be that bad!” Kel tried to convince the boy to climb. 

Omori seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in and grabbed the ladder handles, slowly beginning to move upwards. Everyone else hopped on and began climbing as well, slowly but surely they were making their way up.

Kel felt like something fell out of his pocket but he didn’t know what. Aubrey on the other hand did, “OW! WHAT WAS THAT A ROCK?”

“Oh, I think that is what fell out of my pocket. Oh well…” Kel sighed, though he did find it funny that it whacked her head.

Omori started to climb a bit faster and everyone else sped up as well, finally making it to Otherworld. “Oh, this place seems pretty.” Hero admired the area.

“I hope by pretty you mean pretty stinky, this place smells!” Aubrey complained, covering her nose.

Omori didn’t speak, he only walked forward as the rest followed behind. Otherworld was pretty despite the awful smell. Mari was somehow already setting up a second picnic before noticing the others, “Oh hey guys! Welcome to Otherworld! An unofficial pitstop for space travelers and a popular camping ground!”

“Who would wanna camp here! It smells!” Aubrey complained.

“Yeah, that might be the nearby junkyard, despite it, people like it here!” Mari grinned, “If you learn how to block out the smell you could instead pick up on the campfire people have going.”

“So space travelers are here? Oooh, do you mean like space pirates?” Kel couldn’t help but ask. If he could become a space pirate in his dream then that might just make his night.

“Kel, did you manage to forget about Basil?” Hero sighed, “We need to find him, remember?”

“Oh yeah, hehe….” Kel nervously rubbed the back of his head. Whoops, he completely forgot. Maybe he could hang out with Basil in the morning to make up for it.

“Gee Kel, come on, let’s look around.” Aubrey sighed. 

Omori began to walk around the area, taking a quick stop in front of a floating mirror again. This time, instead of simply smiling behind him they did stupid poses to see if they could make Omori’s face change. It didn’t work as Omori simply walked away from them.

They ran to catch up with him to see a weird man(???) that almost looked like a planet behind a tree. Omori took a few steps near it before the planet man noticed him. 

The planet turned around with an intimidating face and a battle began. Omori whipped out his knife and swung at the planet.

“That was pathetic!” The planet yelled before throwing a right chop into Omori’s face. Aubrey ran up next and slammed the planet with her doll but it barely seemed to phase him, “You are weak as well!” He chopped her away as well.

Hero was next in line as he aimed for the legs with his spatula. “Clever, however, you will not knock me down!” The planet punted Hero right into Omori. 

Finally, Kel was last, he threw his ball though the planet dodged out of the way last minute, “Hm, a long-range attack? You got a pretty good throw, it is a shame that-” 

**THWACK**

The ball bounced off the wall behind the planet and came back at full force. “Damn it! That might have made a new crater!” he groaned, seemingly angry at the group now.

“Guys, maybe if we attack at the same time we could do more damage!” Hero suddenly suggested it to the group. Omori and the others nodded in agreement before charging at the planet.

Kel got to attack first, his ball bouncing around and hitting the enemy from all sides. Aubrey went next, swinging her doll rapidly emitting sounds of pain from the enemy. Kel silently wondered what was in that doll. Hero went for the legs again, knocking the planet off his feet. Finally, Omori sliced both arms off the enemy with only a slight struggle. 

“Holy shit…” He heard Aubrey mutter but if anyone else heard they didn’t show it.

“Mmm, impressive young ones. I must go.” The planet regrew its arms and jumped away. 

“...Well there he goes.” Kel was honestly shocked about how weird that experience was.

“Remind me to never get on Omori’s bad side.” Hero whispered to Kel causing him to chuckle a bit.

The group made their way upwards finding a house on top that looked like a crescent moon. In front of the house sat a green bird person wearing an eye-patch

“Halt, children!” The bird suddenly spotted them, “You are now entering the vicinity of the captain of the space pirates!”

Kel’s eyes widened as the bird continued, “He is the master of the solar system! The prince of the universe, the one-and-only Capt. Space- I mean, err, you are entering the home of Space Boyfriend…”

Kel was immediately disappointed by the stupid name.

“So the captain lives here? Do you think he can help us?” Hero asked.

“Pff no.” The bird laughed, “The captain has us do all of his chores while he lays in bed. Honestly, it is so annoying.”

“Oh, maybe we can talk to him?” Hero asked again.

“You can try but I doubt you will get him to listen. Here, I will get out of your way.” The bird moved away so the others could walk upwards more. They entered the house with Omori taking the lead.

The place was surprisingly huge, with a few space pirates moving boxes left and right.

The group moved forward to what appeared to be Space Boyfriend lying on his bed. Eyes shut and coughing. Kel silently hoped that dreams can’t give you colds. 

“Capt. Space Boyfriend doesn’t look good at all…” Hero muttered. 

“Pff, don’t worry, I got this!” Kel jumped onto Space Boyfriends’ bed and continued jumping, “HEY, SPACE BOYFRIEND!! WAKE UP!!” 

“Kel! Get down!” Hero yelled at his brother.

Kel hopped down immediately and sighed, “Darn, it didn’t work…”

Space Boyfriend coughed some more and whispered something Kel couldn’t hear. 

“He sounds upset. Good going Kel.” Aubrey faked clapping for the boy. 

“Oh, shut up!” Kel rolled his eyes. 

Just then another space pirate showed up, “Oh boy, not again...he is feeling the heavy blues.”

“Heavy blues?” Aubrey asked.

“Yeah. Hold on, this should cheer him up.” The pirate walked over to the boombox in the corner and pressed play. However, no sound came out from it, causing the space pirate to worry.

“...Oh no.” The pirate mumbled.

“What’s wrong?” Hero asked.

“The boombox is empty! He ain’t gonna wake up now! Either that or he is going to wake up angry.” The pirate complained, “Where did he leave his Special Mixtape? Ugh, this is so stupid…” The pirate whispered out the last part.

“Why does it need to be a certain mixtape? Can’t you just play a song or something?” Kel questioned.

“You see, whenever Space Boyfriend is not with Sweetheart he gets upset like he is now. The only way to make him happy is by playing his Special Mixtape that has their favorite songs on it.” The pirate explained. 

“...Okay.” Everyone minus Omori still didn’t understand why he needed to play a mixtape to wake up but chalked it up to the dream being weird.

“Ugh, if Space Boyfriend stays like this we may as well no longer be pirates! Everything will be for nothing.” The pirate sighed dramatically.

“Sounds like a personal problem.” Kel shrugged and began to walk away.

That was before Hero grabbed him from behind and forced him to stay put. Kel tried to squirm out but Hero was just too strong.

“Is there any way we can help?” Hero politely asked as Kel continued to try and escape.

“Yeah, here ya go.” The pirate threw a key at Omori.

**You got Junkyard key!**

“That key unlocks the junkyard! The mixtape should be in there, sometimes it gets mixed with the trash…” The pirate rubbed the back of his head before opening a secret door in the wall near Space Boyfriend.

The pirate walked away as the others stood near the door. 

“Well, let’s get this over with.” Hero sighed. 

With that, the group walked in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **"O̷̰͝h̵͈̟̏̆ ̶͔̼̏̕ṃ̶̹̋͝y̶̲͈̒ ̵̮̻͒͑d̸̹͈͆é̷̩̠ǎ̸̛̰r̴̩͐́ ̶̼̕B̷̜̣̑a̸͍͐s̴͔̑͂i̵͎̽l̵̩͇̿ ̷͕̍͌ȋ̶̹t̶͕͚͐͒ ̴̢̈s̴͈̑͝e̶̛̮̓e̵̻͗m̵̳̲s̸͇̯͋͠ ̴̖͗̐i̵͈̾t̴̹̒ ̸̗̮͌m̴̥̥͠i̵̻͊g̶̛̲͗h̸̜̏̑ẗ̷̡̛́ ̴̤̌͐͜a̶̢͂͜ ̸̈́͜w̵̦̬̐̄h̶̭̿̕i̴͖͒l̶̻̎̈́e̶̘̟̕ ̷̲̫̆f̵͈ͅo̴̯̕r̶͎͂̊ ̸̜̈́t̸̪̺͑h̵̩͕͝ḛ̷̦͋̿m̴̙͈̌͠ ̵̦̽ť̵̺̗͠o̸͈̤͐ ̸̣̈́̍f̸͇̓͝i̶̙n̸͙̟̐͆d̶̳̳͗͑ ̵̟̄ÿ̵͙́ͅo̶̬̞̿u̷̬̦͑͂~̴̯̥̃͋"**


	4. Otherworld Pt2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exploring the Junkyard. Still Kel POV

Omori walked in first, leading the group to a long bridge with a door at the end. Omori walked ahead and ran into two space pirates who seemed troubled.

“We’ve really done it now dude. I hope the captain won’t be too mad when we tell him his favorite planet is missing…” The first one began, “You know how he gets when he is mad.”

“Buddy, you’re not supposed to call him captain anymore! You have to call him Space Boyfriend, remember?” The second one corrected him.

“Oh yeah, that’s right…” The first one trailed off.

“Urg...ARRGGGGGGGGG! You know dude? Sometimes I wonder if we are even space pirates anymore! Ever since Sweetheart came along we haven’t done anything cool! We should quit and get real jobs...” The second one snapped.

“Dude! Don’t talk nonsense! What is life for us if not the space pirate life? Captain will come back to his senses someday and we’ll fly again! We just gotta believe in him!” The first one comforted the other.

The second one sighed, “Thanks man. You’re always there for me when I need you.”

The space pirates walked away and left through the door on the other side. 

“...That was something…” Hero trailed off.

“Best not to question it…” Aubrey sighed.

The group continued forward and exited through the door, making their way to the Junkyard. 

The junkyard was smelly and messy. Aubrey groaned at the thought of walking through all of the trash. The others however didn’t seem as bothered while they continued walking.

Kel however couldn’t help but laugh and point at a worm peeking out of a magical floating hole, “H-hey guys look, it-it’s a pff wormhole heheh.” 

“...I hate this place. I hate it so much.” Aubrey muttered to herself as Hero laughed. Omori didn’t seem to have any reaction to it. 

On the other side of the room was a man with the longest mustache that the group has ever seen wearing a top hat. “My good men! I am looking for some art! Fear not, for I will know when I find it!” the man turned away from them and began rummaging through trash.

“Uh, good luck buddy…” Kel sighed. 

The group moved upwards to the front door of the junkyard. Omori took out the key and placed it in the keyhole in the door. The door lowered into the ground, allowing our group to proceed. Walking forward broken cars were lying about along with traffic cones. The group made their way through, grabbing some more items that were weirdly stuffed in Watermelons. 

Kel noticed an open area with trash and out of curiosity began digging through it. 

“Dude, really.” Aubrey deadpanned. 

“Ain’t we looking for something?” Kel asked.

“We are looking for a special mixtape…” Hero reminded Kel.

“Oh yeah, duh.” Kel continued searching only running into cans.

“...” After a while of digging Kel got up and sighed, “Nothing in here.” 

“Congratulations you have wasted our time.” Aubrey faked clapping.

“Aw shut up!” Kel groaned.

The gang proceeded ahead, climbing up ladders and grabbing any piece of random trash that might be useful. Floating mixtapes in the air began to attack the group, along with a floating boombox that seemed to be on fire. 

Eventually, the group came upon a giant block of junk in their path.

“Damn, looks like this way is a bust.” Kel groaned.

“You might even call it a roadblock...get it?” Hero jokes.

“AYE!” Kel high fived him. 

“I hate both of you with every inch of my body.” Aubrey put her hands on her face.

“That isn’t a lot of inches to me.” Hero continued.

“I WILL BATHE IN YOUR BLOOD.” 

Hero and Kel laughed and Omori seemed to stare with interest. 

Aubrey, in a fit of rage, ran forward and smashed the junk block into pieces. Kel and Hero stared in silence as Omori just rolled his eyes and continued.

“...” Aubrey also continued forward in silence.

Hero and Kel followed after snapping out of their shock. 

There were more blocks in the way and Aubrey destroyed all of them. Some more enemies like the boombox and mixtapes appeared along with a dial-up computer. “Gee no wonder why this is a junkyard. It is filled with old tech.” Kel groaned. 

Further ahead was another locked door with two conveyor belts on the side. A bot with the conveyor belt controller sat to the left of them.

“Hey, Mr.Conveyor-bot! Switch those conveyor belts to go the other way already!” Kel ordered.

“Bzzt, hmph. Rude person. Dislike.” The bot beeped.

“Gee Kel, good job at being rude.” Aubrey groaned.

“Alright guys, this looks like a job for me!” Hero spoke up before clearing his voice, “Greetings, Mr. Conveyor-bot, Me and my friends require your help in changing the direction of your conveyors. Will you help us?” 

If robots could blush this one would be as red as a tomato. “Bzzt! Ah! Nice person! I and friends shall help!”

The conveyor switched directions and allowed the group to proceed. They decided to hop onto the short one first, allowing them to go to the other side and explore. While walking they noticed a certain container began aggressively shaking.

“I...don’t like that…” Kel muttered. 

Before anyone could walk away the container broke open to reveal what best could be described as a Kool-aid man ripoff.

“Hey, kids! I am the Life Jam guy!” It spoke with a happy tone, “I sell a wonderful product called LIFE JAM! IT REALLY WORKS!” He laughed.

“Would you like a free sample?” Life Jam guy asked. 

“Uh...sure?” Kel accepted.

He wished he didn’t.

Life Jam guy knocked out everyone except Omori. Kel felt his body morph into...bread? No, wait, it smells more like toast. WHY WAS HE TOAST???

“Use Life Jam on your party members!” Life Jam guy spoke, though it sounded far away to Kel.

He heard footsteps run over as...WAS SOMEONE SPREADING JAM ON HIM? 

Kel immediately morphed back and began shaking toast crumbs off him. Omori on the other hand proceeded to spread jam on everyone else, breaking them out of their toast forms.

“Kel, do me a favor and never take offers from strangers ever again.” Aubrey gave him a glare that could have killed him.

“No problem. I don’t think I ever regretted a decision this badly in my life.” He agreed.

“I hoped you enjoyed your free samples!” Life Jam guy grinned, “I know you enjoyed it!” 

“YOU BEATED THE CRAP OUT OF US! WE DIDN’T ENJOY IT AT ALL!” Aubrey complained.

“...Would you feel better if I healed you?” Life Jam guy offered. 

Before anyone could protest Omori gave a thumbs up. Life Guy waved his hands and the next thing everyone knew, they were healed. 

“There! All better! Now would you like to buy some life jam? It will cost you 250 clams!” Life Jam guy beamed.

Omori took out some clams and handed it to the Life Jam guy. 

“LIFE JAM! IT REALLY WORKS!” 

The group sighed and continued their journey. Eventually, they found another key and headed back, going through the locked door and walking inside a container. Inside was a ladder that led them on top of the containers, allowing them to gain a view from above.

Some more fights with some angry mixtapes and dial-up computers the group made their way through and went on the ground again. This time however Mari was there with a picnic set up just for them.

“Hey everyone! Hope you’re all enjoying yourselves! I cleared out the junk here and found this perfectly good roasted chicken here!” Mari pointed to the delicious smelling chicken on a perfectly clean plate.

Honestly, Kel isn’t used to seeing her in his dream still. Maybe it is the universe’s way of making him happy? Her smile makes him feel better about himself, as long as the dream doesn’t get dark again he doesn’t mind.

“See, Omori? Cleaning has its benefits!” Mari smiled warmly, “Gotta set an example to my sometimes-messy little brother!”

...brother? Mari didn’t have a brother named Omori. She had a brother named… _wait a second._

Kel, Hero, and Aubrey at the same time realized who Omori was meant to represent. He was meant to represent Sunny! Mari’s little brother!

Kel felt like an idiot, how was he so blind to that! It was clear the others felt the same way he did as their faces flashed with recognition.

Why was Sunny the only one going by a different name though? Everyone else had their names the same as their real-life counterparts. This must be the weirdest dream he ever had.

The gang got up and began to move ahead. Hero, Kel, and Aubrey were in too much shock to make banter. They were going to continue in silence until a car battery fell in front of them. 

It sent out a zap sending the group backward and away from continuing. “Ow! What the-! What gives!?” Kel yelled.

He took a good look at the enemy in front of them and noticed a button on its head. He turned around and noticed a platform that would be perfect for throwing on as well.

“Hey! There is a weak point on its head! Give me a moment, I gotta plan!” Kel ran to the platform and climbed up, ready his ball, and then fired straight for the forehead. 

Omori and the others jumped back as the battery made a slight explosion. 

“GEE KEl, A WARNING WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE!” Aubrey yelled.

“I DID WARN YA!”

“Please stop fighting…” Hero sighed, a headache growing in his head. He doesn’t even know how he is getting a headache in his dream.

The group moved forward once again, walking on more containers and splitting open watermelons. Eventually, after Omori broke down some more construction cones he pointed to a block of junk in the way. 

“Ah, you want me to break it? Alright.” Aubrey swung her doll and smashed the trash in half. It revealed a weird black fuzz in the sky. 

“What is…?” Hero whispered as Omori walked forward and grabbed it. His body language dampened all of a sudden and Omori simply walked away as if he grabbed nothing. 

Maybe this was another thing Kel shouldn’t question.

They traveled some more and found a ladder that led to what looked to be a beautiful view. A couch was on top and looked surprisingly in tip-top shape. It also had a billboard on it.

“Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon? There is great food but no atmosphere.” The sign read.

“PFF”

“HAHA!” Kel and Hero laughed at it but Omori and Aubrey shared the same dead expression. 

After listening to Kel and Hero’s laughter, Omori decided to sit on the couch. Everyone proceeded to join him as all this fighting was wearing them out. The stars shined brightly and the moon was huge. While sitting Omori seemed to relax and even leaned onto Kel’s leg. 

“The moon looks awesome from here! God this place is amazing!” Kel grinned.

“Honestly if it wasn’t for the junk everywhere I would agree with you.” Aubrey sighed.

“Eh, you're just a party pooper.” Kel stuck out his tongue.

“Please shut up,” Aubrey said in a weirdly polite tone, which honestly was very scary.

After their rest, they decided to continue. Fighting some other enemies they made it to a giant block of cheese in the middle of their way.

“Quick question, why?” Aubrey asked no one.

“Try beating it up!” Kel suggested.

Aubrey whacked it with her doll a few times but quickly realized that there was no way she was breaking this thing.

“This has to be stale…” Aubrey muttered.

“Why don’t we just…” Hero walked forward and grabbed the top of the cheese. Using his body strength he pulled himself upwards and on top of the cheese.

“You see, Hero, we could but-” Aubrey motioned to how short they are. 

“Here!” Hero reached down and grabbed each of their hands, pulling them upwards one at a time.

“Nice thinking bro!” Kel cheered.

“Thanks, Kel!” Hero smiled.

“Alright yeah, that was smart, good going.” Aubrey sighed.

Another mole like the one they faced near Basil’s house stood nearby, staring at them, “Huh, weird people…” The mole walked away.

The group didn’t know why, but they felt like that mole was going to be important.


	5. Otherworld Pt3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Downloading summary 99% done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each time you comment I get stronger. WHO DARE OPPOSES ME.

The group jumped off the cheese and onto the ground, proceeding to check the area before following where the mole went. Up ahead they were able to spot it wearing a bow and digging through the trash. 

“OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH~!!!” The mole suddenly laughed, “At long last, I have finally found it!”

The mole jumped backward, holding what looked like a mixtape in their mouth, “After countless hours of digging and digging, I finally found the one-of-a-kind, ultra-exclusive, Special Mixtape!” The mole bragged, somehow speaking clearly with the tape in its mouth.

“Hold on, isn’t that what we are looking for?” Aubrey asked Hero quietly.

“Yep.” Hero nodded.

“Every Sweetheart fan shall know my name! Rosa! The sprout mole who has the legendary Sweetheart merch!” The mole showed off to no one. 

Hero cleared his throat loud enough for Rosa to hear, “Hello there m’lady, I see you have a Special Mixtape that belongs to one of our friends. May we please have it back?” Hero asked, using his charm.

“Hm, tempting, but I must say no. I, Rosa, found it first. As the number one Sweetheart fan, I must live up to my honor to have all the rare merch! Now good day!” Rosa ran off, leaving a trail of dust behind her.

“Alright, we tried the easy way, now it is time to GET HER-” Everyone began chasing Rosa as she threw out insults to them.

“YOU WILL NEVER CATCH ME STICK LEGS!” She laughed.

She began climbing on containers and jumping off them, running left and right to confuse the gang chasing her. 

They were close a few times but Rosa always managed to slip through their grasp, taunting them as she did. “Hey, slowpokes! Race you out of the junkyard!” she laughed.

While running, Hero spots a Baking Pan in the trash. It looked clean and sturdy so Hero picked it up and switched it out with his Spatula. 

While running after Rosa, who was far ahead at this point, a sudden block of junk fell into the group’s path scaring everyone. Including Mari who was sitting above on one of the containers, “Are you guys okay down there?” She yelled.

Kel was wondering how she got up there but decided it is best not to question it anymore, “We’re good!”

She gave the group a thumbs up before looking behind her, “I have some more chicken if you want some!”

She grabbed a leg and threw it down at Omori who caught it with ease. He then proceeded to start eating it.

“Thanks but I am good!” Hero yelled up.

Kel and Aubrey both nodded in agreement with Hero as Mari smiled, “Alright! Have fun!”

Aubrey whipped out her doll and smashed the block into pieces yet again, allowing the group to continue moving forward. 

Finally, they made it to a room filled with glitched out and frozen television screens. Rosa was standing behind a black and yellow line that is meant to warn people of a hazard. The group ignores it as they move forward still.

“Rosa! We finally caught up! Who is the slowpoke now?” Kel asked as he readied his stance while he watched the sprout mole stay completely motionless. 

“Hand over the mixtape and I won’t beat you up for making me run like that.” Aubrey sighed as she readied her doll. 

Rosa stayed motionless, almost like she was one of the frozen screens on the computer.

“...Guys, I think something is off. She isn’t moving at all.” Hero muttered, a bad feeling crawling on his back.

The group moved past the black and yellow line, suddenly stopping as a computer message appeared in the sky.

**Downloading: Attack.omo. 99% Complete.**

“That isn’t good!” Kel shouted as their surroundings changed to a green plane with a single tree, just like a default computer wallpaper.

Omori took out one of his poems and began to read it to himself, allowing him to get sadder and defense to raise. 

Aubrey gave a thumbs up to Kel and mouthed to him how if he makes a critical she would give him 10 dollars in the real world. 

Kel got pumped up by this and through his shot, striking through the heart and landing a critical. Aubrey sighed as she felt her wallet die inside.

Hero also attacked the download message causing it to glitch and show 98% before going back to 99.

The download was taking its time, staying at 99% as everyone else attacked it, trying to make sure it dies before it finishes.

Omori stabs it a few times as Aubrey wacks it with all her might. Kel throws balls at Hero and Hero smacks it with his Baking Pan, causing more damage than how much their attacks would do normally.

The downloader suddenly begins to glitch out as it crashes and begins to burn. Multiple copies show up and begin exploding, injuring Omori and friends greatly, luckily not turning them back into toast.

Omori held his chest as his health bar flashed in front of him.

**1 HP. Omori did not succumb.**

“Omori! Here take this!” Hero somehow summoned a cookie on his Baking Pan and handed it to Omori. Omori gladly took and ate the cookie and got back onto his feet.

The battle continued with Hero healing everyone, Omori stabbing it relentlessly, and Kel with Aubrey hitting and throwing trash they could find at it.

The download message glitched out the more it was hit. Eventually, Kel hit the giant X on the top right of the screen causing the screen to immediately close out and finish the battle. 

“Wait, that was all we had to do?” Aubrey asked before letting out a groan, “Why didn’t we think of that before…”

“...We are ignoring the fact that we fought a download menu?” Hero asked.

“I mean, we fought multiple flying mixtapes. This is what makes you question everything you know?” Kel jokingly teases.

“Got me there.” Hero chuckled.

Omori wasn’t paying attention to the groups’ conversation, instead, he snuck up behind Rosa and stole the Special Mixtape away from her.

Rosa snapped out of her daze and turned around, “Hey! I felt that! Give me back my mixtape!” She yelled.

“How about no.” Aubrey grinned.

“Yeah! It belongs to Space Boyfriend! So we’re gonna return it, and there isn’t anything you can do!” Kel laughed.

“Space...Boyfriend…” Rosa stared at them completely dumbfound before laughing aggressively, “OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH~!!! YOU IGNORANT CHILDREN! HAVEN’T YOU HEARD THE NEWS? SPACE BOYFRIEND AND SWEETHEART BROKE UP! WHY DO YOU THINK THE TAPE IS IN THE TRASH ANYWAY?”

“Cause a crew member accidentally threw it away?” Kel assumed.

“NO YOU MORON, SPACE BOYFRIEND GOT RID OF IT HIMSELF!”

“He threw it away? That sounds...possible actually…” Hero muttered.

“Wait so if the Mixtape won’t work then how will we wake him up?” Aubrey asked.

“Don’t know, don’t care. Can I have the Special Mixtape now?” Rosa asked.

“No.” Everyone minus Omori said at the same time.

“Guys, she is probably lying. Think about it, she is one of those super fans.” Kel stated.

“Hm, Kel has a point...we should head back to the ship.” Hero added.

The squad nodded and began walking off. “Hey! I am still here!” Rosa yelled, but no one cared causing Rosa to sigh to herself.

The group left the Junkyard finally and overheard the same two space pirates still calling out for Pluto.

“Huh. I wonder if they will ever find Pluto.” Kel muttered.

“Who cares. It is their problem, not ours.” Aubrey sighed.

“Well this wasn’t our problem either but we still helped.” Hero pointed out.

“You forced us too!” Aubrey and Kel yelled at the same time.

Omori just watched as they bickered with a straight face until he heard a yell rang out, “HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”

“We finally found you, Pluto! There is no escape!” One pirate yelled.

Giant footsteps could be heard as the ground shook. Pluto, the planet with giant muscles the group fought before, appeared before their eyes. “Oh no! My giant, well-defined arms and legs are giving out. I can’t let things end like this! I need a place to hide!”

“Hey, you children!” The planet gasped out, “Please, lend me help!” 

“Huh? Um, well, I uh-” Hero stumbled over his words.

“PLEASE I DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME!” Pluto begged.

“A place to hide, eh?” Kel rubbed his chin and looked around, “I got it! You can rest easy cause I know the best spot!”

~A few seconds later~

“Alright! Done!” Kel grinned to himself.

“Crap! They are coming! Act natural!” Hero whispered.

Aubrey began to twirl in place as Kel gave her two thumbs up. Hero stood on a meteor in the ground and had the wind blow through his hair. Omori stood still and did nothing. 

The two pirates walked into the scene, both highly out of breath. “Huff...huff...dang it, I think we lost him.” 

“Hey, kids!” The pirates turned to the group, “We are looking for a planet named Pluto, he is very high profile and expensive! He looks like a giant grey rock with biceps! Hard to miss!”

“Uhhhh” Kel and Aubrey began, not knowing how to respond.

“N-no? Can’t say we have...sorry…” Hero nervously rubbed the back of his head.

“Really?..... Eh, that is life for ya. Have a good day! We need to continue searching.” The pirate waved as he and his friend walked off.

“Alright Pluto, the coast is clear!” Kel whispered.

The planet rose out of an empty crater with a plant Kel dropped on his head, “GWAHAHA! THANK YOU YOUNG ONES!” 

“No problem dude! Happy to help!” Kel grinned.

“You have my gratitude, what are your names?” Pluto asked.

“My name is Kel!” Kel introduced himself proudly, “The girl is Aubrey, the tall one is Hero, and ‘sir can’t emote’ is Omori!” Kel pointed to the rest.

Aubrey and Omori waved hello as Hero spoke up, “Nice to meet you, sir.” 

“My name is Pluto but I bet you know that by now. I thank you for your battle earlier as well, it was fun.” Pluto complimented, “As a planet, it is my job to be part of the stars and serve as a decoration for Capt. Spaceboy. I, however, wish to be more! I wish to be free and help others travel the world. That is my goal.” 

“How do you plan to do that?” Hero asked.

“By opening a fast travel station of course! I shall call it Pluto’s Spaceline! Please act as you just arrived at my station.” Pluto quickly spoke the last sentence.

“Uh, okay? Is this Pluto’s Spaceline?” Hero asked. 

“YES, IT IS! WELCOME TRAVELERS! WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO?”

“We would like to head over to Space Boyfriends house, we need to drop something off there,” Aubrey stated.

“ALRIGHT! YOU CAN COUNT ONE ME!” Pluto laughed as he flexed his muscles, “HOP ON TRAVELERS!” 

Omori went on first, jumping onto Pluto’s back. He used the craters on Pluto’s body to steady himself and make sure he didn’t fall. Hero and Aubrey were holding on to Pluto’s arms like they were koalas holding onto a tree branch. Kel wasn’t as lucky as the others, trying to find a place for him to latch himself onto. 

“Is everybody strapped in?” Pluto asked the children.

“Wait, hold on! I ain’t ready yet!” Kel shouted. Sadly his shouts landed on deaf ears as Pluto took off. In a panic Kel jumped up and grabbed Pluto’s foot, holding on to him for his life.

Pluto landed next to Mari’s picnic with a thud causing poor Mari to jolt as the group jumped off Pluto.

“How was that for a smooth ride?” Pluto asked the group.

“Comfortable and the random music that played out of nowhere was a nice touch. 10 out of 10.” Hero smiled.

“SAYS YOU! MY ARMS FEEL LIKE THEY ARE GONNA FALL OUT!” Kel complained. Mari laughed nearby but Kel ignored her.

“You did a great job holding on back there Kel! You have the potential to be very strong! Want to learn a skill that might help you in the future?” Pluto asked.

“Uh...yes?” Kel hoped this won’t be like the Life Jam Situation.

“Repeat after me,” Pluto commanded before flexing his muscles, “WHEN I FLEX, I FEEL MY BEST!”

“Um, WHEN I FLEX, I feel my...best?” Kel hoped he was doing it right. He did for some reason feel stronger.

“That should have boosted your attack! Though you could use a little work it wasn’t bad for your first time.” Pluto gave Kel a thumbs up, “Farewell! Till next time!” Pluto jumped back into the air and disappeared. 

“Weirdo,” Aubrey muttered.

“Hey! Don’t be rude!” Kel yelled at her.

“Alright, no fighting.” Hero stopped the duo from continuing. 

“Fine…” both kids grumbled.

“Well, it seems you all are having fun.” Mari giggled from her picnic.

The gang nodded and sat down with her for a bit, relaxing their legs and bodies from the battles they had.

“We should head over to Space Boyfriend, we need to figure out how to help them and see if the captain knows anything about Basil.” Hero suddenly spoke.

“Ah, going to go?” Mari nodded, “Good luck guys!”

The group got up and made their way back to Space Boyfriend’s house and walked inside. 

Why does Kel have a bad feeling about this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "S̶͍̥͍̩̑͐̍̀̔̈̈͘͘͝͝O̴͉͎̤̒̊M̸̢͆̅͂̑͝Ẻ̸͓͔͍̜͚̍̚ͅƠ̸̺͕͂̿̓̏͗̔͌̕N̵̡̛͙̠͙͖̣̭̭̞̋̊͋͑͛̋̐̕͝É̵̟͔̃!̸̨̈́͋̅̐̓̌͋̍͐̕̚ ̵̢̱͕͕̖̙̼͔̟̩̈́͜P̷̬͛̾̄̓̊̈́̚͠͝͠L̴̨̿̎̿̕ͅË̶̡̡͙̬̜̤̭̪̗́̄͆͒͂͊̍̌͐͐͘Ȧ̷͍̫̞́ͅS̷̢̨̡̯͈̮̰̲̙̓͊̅͜͝͝Ḙ̵̹̩̩̠͚̜̺̳̾̉͛͛̐!̸͇̺̥̱̜͎̯̜̒̏̃͜ͅ ̷͎̥̭̖͓͖̌̂͛̃̄͑Ṡ̸̘͔̭͙̠̠̪̺͇̾̈́̄͐̃A̷̧͎͍͖͍͕͖̗̺̋̂̂̏̌͜͝͝V̶̠̗͚̇̆̍͆͜E̸̡͎̿̽͆̇̃͝ ̶̛̫̭̺̖̻̈́͝M̵͎̩̩͋͆̋͌̇͝͝E̸͍̻͌̽̏̐̕͠ ̶̧̞͖̥͈̰͒̓̽̈̄͒̎̋̒͝P̴̨̧͔̠̏͛̋̌̒͐̾͝͠L̸͉̝̩̟̓͛̇̍E̴̢̛͇̮̜̼͈̮͑̐͜͜Ḁ̴̭̙̹̣̣̑̈́̊͐̓͘͘͜ͅS̵̢̨̢̝̫͈̹͈̙̔͊́͗̕̕͘͠E̴̢͉̽̇!̵̫̤̺̮̋̃̎̋̎̈̌͒͗̕"


	6. VS Space Ex-Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fighting Space Ex-Boyfriend, nothing else happens! You can trust me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't write fight scenes for the life of me I am so sorry for your eyes.

At Space Boyfriend’s bed, everyone stood around it before a space pirate walked up from behind.

“Well, did’ja bring the tape?” The pirate asked the group. 

Omori pulled out and held the tape in the air for the pirate to see. The pirate seemed to be stunned before giving out a grin, “Well ya really did it! A bit dirty but that is the tape!”

“Actually about this whole Space Boyfriend situation,” Hero began, not noticing Kel taking the mixtape from Omori, “We were told a rumor that Space Boyfriend and Sweetheart broke up…”

“WAIT, REALLY? DO YOU KNOW IF IT IS TRUE??” The pirate yelled in shock, not noticing that Kel and Omori moved towards Space Boyfriend.

“No, but if it is I don’t think this mixtape would work on him…” Hero muttered.

“Hey Space Boyfriend, we got your mixtape back,” Kel told the resting pirate. 

Space Boyfriend didn’t move at all prompting Kel to frown a bit, “Could say thanks, I worked hard for this.”

“Gee, it is just a breakup. Normal people go through that most of the time, he’ll get over it.” Aubrey groaned.

“Hey Omori, do ya think if I blast the mixtape it will get him up?” Kel asked. It felt weird to call Sunny by a different name but whatever floats his boat.

Omori looked between Kel and Space Boyfriend curiously before shrugging. He looked surprised to even be asked that question. 

“Eh, it’s worth a shot.” Kel decided, moving to the boombox to enter the tape.

“In that case, it might be too emotional to play the mixtape for him. Omori, can you give me the tape?” Hero asked. 

Kel was already inserting the tape and pressing play before anyone could stop him. A nice melody began to play, filling the air with a lighthearted toon. 

“Kel you moron!” Aubrey yelled at the kid.

“What? Isn’t this what we came to do?” Kel asked.

“I suddenly have a bad feeling about this…” Hero groaned as he whipped out his Baking Pan, sensing the danger to come.

“What….is...that...INFERNAL...RACKET!?!?” Space Boyfriend shot up, throwing his blanket off his bed and into the starry background behind him. 

“Damn it Kel! You messed up again!” Aubrey yelled as she took out her doll. Omori followed suit by taking his knife out.

“Heh...my bad…” Kel mumbled.

“FWAHAHAHA! FEAR ME FOR I HAVE AWAKENED!”

Everyone stood their ground firmly before Space Boyfriend looked around, “...hmph, one second.” He suddenly teleported from his area, startling Kel to take a few steps back. 

Now that Kel thinks about it, he could swear he recognizes Space Boyfriend from somewhere but he can’t remember where. 

Space Boyfriend appeared again next to the boombox and proceeded to take the mixtape out to replace it with a different one. Suddenly a more Sci-fi tune began to play as Space Boyfriend posed dramatically, “FWAHAHAHAHAHA! MUCH BETTER THEME, WOULDN’T YOU AGREE?” 

Omori and Kel gave a thumbs up to it causing Hero and Aubrey to let out a sigh. “What? It slaps!” Kel stated, noticing their faces.

Space Boyfriend teleported back onto his bed and stood upon them proudly, “Foolish children! I must thank you for pulling me out of that pathetic state! I grew tired lying in bed, pretending to be sick. Like I always say, FEELINGS ARE FOR LOSERS!” 

He dramatically closed his fist and looked at the floor, “That wench, Sweetheart...SHE IS GOING TO PAY FOR LEAVING ME!” He looked back to the four children.

“I did everything for her! I gave everything to her! EVERYTHING YA HEAR ME!?!” He yelled, “That little-! AUGHHHHH” He whipped out a laser gun and shot his own bed, leaving a burn mark on the mattress. 

“Forget it! I will find Sweetheart, AND I WILL MAKE HER PAY!” He growled.

“Wow, toxic much?” Aubrey groaned, “If she doesn’t want to be with you that is it, end of the story.” 

“Yeah Space Boyfriend- or would it be better to call ya, Space Ex-Boyfriend!” Kel attempted to roast him.

“Kel, do you like making our enemies mad or…?” Hero groaned as Ex-Boyfriend seemed to be even more pissed than before.

“DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM? I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THE SPACE PIRATES! I CONTROL ALL THE PLANETS AND COULD FLY THROUGH THE STARS WHENEVER I PLEASE! EVEN WITH ALL OF THIS, YOU CHALLENGE ME?” 

“Yes.” Kel shrugged, knowing there was going to be a battle anyway.

“KEL!” Everyone minus Omori shouted. 

“So. Be. It.” Ex-Boyfriend pointed his gun at the group and fired, aiming straight at Kel. If it wasn’t for Omori being next to him and shoving him out of the way, Kel would have been hit hard.

“If you want to defy me, then perish earthly scum!” Ex-Boyfriend yelled as he began aggressively attacking the group.

Kel was still near Omori’s side as Ex-Boyfriend fired his gun at his opponents. Hero and Aubrey also were near each other, trying to protect the other from Ex-Boyfriend’s bullets.

The group only managed to get a few good hits, mainly from Kel and Omori who are closest to the space pirate. 

“My rage cannot be contained, you can’t placate me!” Ex-Boyfriend yelled, proceeding to get angry. 

**Space Ex-Boyfriend can no longer become Happy or Sad!**

Omori took out a poem and read it to himself while Kel made sure to get some hits on Ex-Boyfriend. Hero was healing Aubrey who was badly injured from one of the pirates' shots by handing her cookies, which they all still don’t know how that works.

Space Ex-Boyfriend wasn’t letting up, his attacks became more brutal over time as he got even more pissed off with the group, even letting out wails that injured their eardrums more than their bodies. 

“Gah! How are you still moving!? I...I won’t let you defeat me!” Ex-Boyfriend became enraged at the fact the group was withstanding his attack. 

“Guys! Remember that move we used on Pluto? We might have a chance if we use it on Space Ex-Boyfriend!” Hero shouted.

Everyone nodded in agreement as they powered up their attack. Kel threw his ball around Ex-Boyfriend before slam dunking it in his face. Aubrey went next, whacking him in the face aggressively, “THAT IS WHAT YOU GET FOR SHOOTING ME!”

Hero ran forward and began beating Space Ex-Boyfriend in the face and slammed it into his stomach.

“OH, YOU LITTLE SH-” Ex-Boyfriend lashed out, knocking Hero backward. He pointed the gun at him and was about to fire when Omori ran up and slashed him from behind.

“ARGH, OUT OF THE WAY EARTH SCUM! LAST CHANCE!” 

Space Ex-Boyfriend became furious as he turned around and kicked Omori in the gut. 

“Hey! Back off!” Kel yelled as he threw his ball right into Ex-Boyfriend’s face, stunning the pirate. 

Aubrey also attacked again, aiming for the pirate’s gun and knocking it out of his hands.

Hero aimed for the stomach and kicked it as hard as he could, “Doesn’t feel good, does it!”

Omori got up off the floor and watched how his friends attacked Space Ex-Boyfriend with the intent to avenge the injury Omori has gained. He ran forward next and slashed again at Ex-Boyfriend’s heart.

“Ugh...my heart...it...hurts....” Space Ex-Boyfriend fell on the ground while everyone tried to catch their breaths. 

“Kel, please stop doing things without us knowing…” Hero gasped out.

“Understood captain…” Kel groaned. 

The eye patch on Space Ex-Boyfriend’s face fell off, allowing Omori to pick it up and stuff it in his pocket. 

**Omori learned Hack Away!**

“...?” Space Ex-Boyfriend began looking around the room, almost like he didn’t know where he was, “H-huh? What happened? Where am I? Who are you?” he asked the group.

“Gee Aubrey! You whacked him so hard he has amnesia!” Kel laughed.

“Me? You're the one who threw a ball directly into his face!” Aubrey yelled back.

“Um- hey! How are you feeling?” Hero asked nervously.

“Oh, hello…I’m Capt. Spaceboy! A pleasure to meet you-” Spaceboy cut himself off as he grabbed his chest, “Oww, my chest!”

“Oh, are you okay? I mean, we did have to fight you to calm you down...” Hero asked, worried they might have taken it too far.

“Hero, he was slashed with a knife multiple times, whacked in the face with my doll, beaten with your spatula, and hit in the head with a hard ball. OF COURSE HE ISN’T OKAY!” Aubrey berated the older member.

“Ah, I see, my other half must have gotten the better of me. I must apologize, I bet your actions were well-justified.” Spaceboy felt sorry for his actions, “I hope I didn’t cause you trouble…”

“Ah, don’t worry about it!” Kel shrugged, he honestly felt like he knew the name Spaceboy but for some reason couldn’t put his finger on it. 

“My emotions are becoming harder to control recently, I try to keep them at bay but they are becoming difficult to deal with…” Spaceboy sighed, his face becoming somber, “Sweetheart, she was the love of my life. It is almost impossible to imagine life without her, so I guess I am a bit lost…”

He took the Special Mixtape out of his pocket, “This Special Mixtape is full of mine and her favorite songs, I put so much effort and love into making this for her…thank you for returning it. It still has our memories after all.”

“Uh, no problem man! Well I mean it was a bit of a problem but-” Kel was cut off by Hero chopping him on the head.

“We are happy to have been able to help you. You deserve a rest.” Hero smiled.

“I am afraid no amount of rest can heal my heart, I must find another way over this slump…” Spaceboy trailed off.

Suddenly two space pirates walked up the stairs causing the group to move to the side, “Capt. Sp- I mean Space Boyfriend! I am so very sorry but I have very bad news! Your favorite planet Pluto escaped and we can’t find him anywhere!” 

The duo got on their knees, “Please don’t be mad! We’re sorry!” “P-please be gentle…” both pirates braced for impact.

Spaceboy turned around and saw that what they said was true, Pluto wasn’t there anymore. 

“Ah, I see. It’s okay you two. I am sure even planets get bored of turning slowly all day. Perhaps Pluto was never meant to be a planet.” Spaceboy sighed, a bit upset Pluto was gone.

“H-huh? Really??” The two pirates looked up at Spaceboy, “So you're not angry at us?”

“Do you really mean it, Capt- I mean Space Boyfriend?” The other pirate asked.

“I sure do. Gather the rest of the crew, we shall go to Frozen Lake and grab some sno-cones!” Spaceboy smiled at the pirates, “Resting may not help my heart but maybe some food with friends will!”

His face suddenly damped again, “Also please don’t call me Space Boyfriend anymore, that only brings painful memories. Call me Captain SpaceBoy!” 

“W-wait does this mean?” The space pirate looked to his buddy, “WOOOO HOOOOO!”

“THE CAPTAIN IS BACK! I CAN’T WAIT TO TELL EVERYONE!”

The two space pirates grinned at each other as they ran down the stairs to grab the crew.

“I can’t thank you enough for what you have done! Who knows what could have happened to me and my crew if you didn’t help us.” Space Boyfriend gave a mini bow.

“Eh, it was nothin.” Kel smiled back.

“If you ever need anything from me and the Space Pirates, feel free to ask anytime.” Spaceboy grinned.

“Actually, speaking of that we could use your assistance.” Hero began, “We are looking for our friend Basil. He was wearing a flower crown and had a photo album with him when I last saw him. Have you seen him anywhere?”

“...No I am afraid I haven’t seen anyone like that. If I do see anything you all should be the first to know.” Spaceboy informed the group.

“Darn it...where could he have gone…” Aubrey muttered. 

“I shall inform my crew about the situation so they could keep an eye out as well. If it makes you and your group feel better…” Spaceboy handed out a Sno-cone Ticket, “And if this will help you on your journey, you can have this…” He also took out a Train Pass.

“Oh wow! Thank you so much Spaceboy!” Hero smiled.

“Hey, captain! We’re all ready to go if you are!” A space pirate walked into the room, tapping his foot on the ground with excitement.

“Ah yes, don’t worry! I am coming!” Spaceboy turned to his teammate, “I wish you all the best of luck on your journey!” He waved goodbye to the rest of the group.

The gang all groaned to themselves, “Well, that was for nothing…” Kel muttered.

“I mean, at least they plan on helping.” Hero sighed.

Omori didn’t speak like usual but he did walk to a pillow that, now that Hero is closer to it, was glowing black underneath it.

“Uh, Omori, do you think it is a good idea to-” Hero didn’t finish as Omori moved the pillow and grabbed the dark blur under it. This time instead of being disappointed, his body posture changed to him standing straighter which Hero hoped is a good thing.

“You like random black fuzzy's on the ground, don’t ya.” Kel jokes.

Omori only shrugged in response.

“Alright, let’s get moving. Hopefully, we will find Basil somewhere else.” Aubrey began to run back outside of Spaceboy’s house. Though they did happen to notice that there was suddenly a red trail on the ground.

It looked like blood.

Kel felt a shiver climb up his spine as the others also seemed to notice the trail. They looked at each other and nodded, deciding to follow it to see where it leads.

While following the trail, they were going to run past Mari’s picnic before she spoke up, “Hey guys! How is the search going?” She asked.

“Sadly we have nothing…” Hero muttered in disappointment, “We ended up getting highly sidetracked…”

“I got a free Sno-cone ticket so that is a plus!” Aubrey bragged.

“Nice! Make sure to use it!” Mari smiled. Kel had to force himself to remember this was a dream.

“Hm, hey Omori! Did you get any leads?” Mari decided to ask the boy. Omori only shrugged in response.

“Well, I believe in you guys! I bet you will find him soon!” Mari cheered.

With newfound encouragement the gang marched on, still following what looked to be the trail of blood. They wondered if Mari could see it before brushing it off as the dream being weird.

Walking down more they made it back to where they arrived at Overworld, however from the corner of their eye they spotted him.

It had to be him, it looked too much like him!

“There you are, Basil!” Kel yelled as he and Omori took off in a sprint.

“Kel! Omori! Wait up!” Aubrey shouted after them as she and Hero ran forward as well.

The sky seemingly got darker as they continued following the trail. Omori suddenly stopped when he saw what looked like a shadowy version of Basil up ahead. The shadow noticed him and proceeded to walk away.

They tried to follow him but ended up in an area where cookies were seated on a plate with cards, books, and a toy bear surrounding it.

“Mari’s cookies...Mari cookies have much more love baked into them. I could eat them forever.” A voice spoke, distorted enough for the group not to know who was speaking. Everything faded away slowly, Mari’s cookies fading last.

Omori seemed to be a bit shaken by the voice but he turned around and walked the other way where the shadow figure went. The group took a moment but eventually caught up from behind.

They ran into another corner, a few more toys were scattered around like puzzle pieces and blocks.

“We’re still young...we should dream big, right?” The voice spoke again as the toys faded.

They were still bothered by the voice but the shadow figure watching them afar put them on edge. The group ran at it, trying to maybe catch up to it and ask it questions. Maybe to ask why it looks like Basil. 

The tapping of their feet rang out the Basil shadow figure suddenly stopped, waiting for the group to catch their breath.

“B-Basil...what are-” Hero didn’t finish that sentence as the shadow figure walked inside the barn which began to glow a bright red light from inside.

The group cautiously made their way inside as the figure stood in front of a drawn photograph before they entered inside it. 

“I have an awful feeling about this…” Aubrey muttered.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go in…” Kel agreed.

Omori on the other hand began to walk forward and stepped inside the photograph without warning.

“Omori!” Hero yelled, running after the boy.

Kel and Aubrey quickly began following from behind, leading the whole group to a black staircase, outlined only in white lines. 

Omori quickly ran up the staircase, causing everyone else to try and keep up. The staircase was long and sturdy, it felt like it was never going to end.

Omori suddenly stopped as another black fuzz stood before them. He grabbed the fuzz and sighed, seemingly disappointed in it. 

The group silently realized what they were looking at. A stand stood dead-center on the second to last stair as a photo of Mari and Sunny’s family hung behind it. A nose from the ceiling hung ominously above them as Hero felt his throat tighten.

Suddenly sheet music appeared on the stand and the group moved forward to take a look at it. All the notes on the page were aggressively scribbled out, almost as if someone was sabotaging it.

The photo in front of them suddenly changed to have everyone but Mari’s face scribbled out, leaving a shiver to crawl down their spines.

“Guys, I think we should leave.” Aubrey’s voice wavered.

“I agree…” Hero muttered, taking a few steps back.

Everyone turned around to walk back and made it a few steps before the hair on their necks suddenly stood up.

They turned back around and saw the same shadow figure from Basil’s house appeared yet again, its only eye filled with hate.

“RUN!”

And they did. The group ran as fast as their legs could take them down the stairs, however, running on the stairs is never a good idea. Everyone realized this as they tripped and were immediately grabbed by the shadow. 

Another image flashed in everyone's mind of Basil holding a photograph. Something, however, was right behind him.

Kel shot up out of his bed and fell on the floor, his heart was aggressively beating in his chest.

“What. The. Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He woke up drenched in sweat and curled into himself, "Everything will be okay..." he whispered repeatedly. Only the shadows could hear him speak.


	7. Snap back to Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Kel POV in the real world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, quick heads-up. I am not used to writing Aubrey I am so sorry if she feels OOC to you. Also to explain Kel's actions, I feel like fucking up in the dream world and causing some of the battles would cause him to more cautious with situations and want to know what is happening before assuming shit.

Kel slowly got off the ground, trying to slow down his breathing and calm his thoughts. He ran his hands through his hair to try and calm down. 

“Kel? Are you okay? We heard a thud!” His father's voice rang through the door.

“Yeah, I am good!’ Kel responded, still trying to catch his breath as he tried to process what happened.

He began stretching his body, his bones making tiny snap noises before he sighed to himself. Grabbing his phone off his nightstand he tried to remember what he wanted to search up.

“Uhhh, oh yeah, something about a violin? That was one of the weird things I saw.” Kel muttered to himself as he used google to find out what a violin in his dream meant to mean.

Apparently, it symbolizes peace and harmony in your waking life. Kel silently wonders if since the violin in his dream was broken that means that his life won’t be peaceful soon enough.

He really preferred not thinking about that. Instead, he grabbed his shoes and put them on, deciding maybe he’ll go check on Sunny. His own dream made him realize it has been a while since he tried getting in contact directly with him.

He left his house, managing to completely forget about breakfast, and walked onto Sunny’s front porch and began to knock on the door. Well to be honest it was more like pounding his fists on the door in hopes that if for some reason Sunny was asleep he could still hear him. 

“Helloooo? Sunny? Are you there?” Kel asked, “Do you remember me? It’s your old friend Kel!” Kel yelled, hoping to get through to Sunny. 

“So, I, uh… I noticed the for sale sign outside your house...and I heard from my mom you're moving soon…” Kel sighed, remembering how his mom told him the news a month ago.

You forget how much you miss someone until you realize they are leaving soon. Kel wonders if anyone else in the group minus him and Hero knows.

“I was wondering if you wanted to hang out one more time before you left or whatever… for old times sake, ya know?” Kel mumbles, his voice becoming more nervous.

He doesn’t know why he was expecting Sunny to just come out, he has tried multiple times trying to get Sunny to show himself. However Sunny never left the walls he built. 

He was about to give up. His fists numb from whacking the door so hard, waiting for a person who never comes. Though suddenly he heard it, a floorboard creaking as someone approached the door. 

He heard footsteps slowly inching towards the door as he continued knocking, almost as if it was an animal slowly approaching a human trying to see if it could trust them. The footsteps stopped and everything was silent except for the sound of Kel’s breathing. The doorknob twists and Kel’s breath is caught in his throat.

Sunny looked a bit different than he remembered.

His skin is pale as snow, reminding Kel of the skin vampires are given in comic books and movies. His eyes barely shined with any light, almost like his soul was fighting to stay alive in them in a sea of darkness. He was also very skinny and small, if Kel hadn’t lived these past four years he would have thought Sunny was still twelve years old...and a vampire.

Despite everything, Kel decided to give the boy a bright smile, “Holy crap! You actually came out!” 

Sunny nervously rubbed his arm as Kel proceeded to back up a bit so Sunny could leave his house.

“I'm going, to be honest with ya, I wasn’t expecting you to come out at all. So I don’t know what we can do today but we can hang out!” Kel invited.

Sunny didn’t say anything, just moving a bit forward and shutting the door behind him.

“Hero is coming back soon from college. Hmm...maybe we can get him a gift at Hobbeez?” Kel offered.

Sunny only gave a tight nod in response like if he moved the wrong way something would chase him down.

“Great! You can lead the way Sunny!” Kel smiled warmly despite all of this. 

Sunny seemed hesitant at first. He walked forward as Kel followed from behind, looking around the area as if it was a foreign land he had never seen before. It was actually quite concerning…

“Sunny, you do remember where Hobbeez is...right?” Kel decided to ask as Sunny almost goes in the wrong direction for the third time.

Sunny looked at Kel before looking down in defeat. Kel sighed and grabbed Sunny’s hand as if he was bringing a lost child to their parents, leading him past the park and into Faraway Plaza.

Finally, they were standing right outside of Hobbeez and Kel walks in as if he owns the place. Sunny follows nervously close behind. There is barely anyone in the shop, maybe one or two customers with Shopkeep running everything.

Kel proceeds to notice the Capt. Spaceboy cardboard cut out as his eyes widened in recognition. That is where he knew Spaceboy from! 

“Heh! Hey, Sunny! Believe it or not, I had a weird dream last night, and Capt. Spaceboy was in it! We got to kick his butt which was kinda funny if you asked me.” Kel informed his friend. Sunny’s eyes flashed with something Kel couldn’t recognize but proceeded to ignore it. 

“Alright! Time to find a gift for Hero!” Kel reminded himself of the main task as he and Sunny began looking at shelves. The duo checked a few shelves that were filled with weird items. Some contain figures and others containing comics. 

They walked over to the top left of the shop and began to check out the shelves over there. Sunny however began to look at a random poster, containing a monster that belongs to a horror series the store was selling. 

“Wow! The monster in that poster looks so cool! I bet fighting it would be fun, wouldn’t it?” Kel asked jokingly. 

Sunny on the other hand decided to stare a bit more at the poster, his eyes seemingly focusing on something inside the poster.

When Kel tried to look to see what Sunny was looking at his eyes widened a bit. It almost looked like the monster in the poster was moving a bit, shifting his body around and its chainsaw a bit wobbly in its hands. 

He blinked and the photo went back to normal, maybe his mind was messing with him at this point.

He looked at Sunny who still seemed to be a bit zoned out, “Hello? Sunny? Earth to Sunny?” Kel waved his hand in front of the boy. Sunny blinked and a sudden thud rang out as a CD hidden behind the poster fell out. 

“...Well that was weird...wanna just take it?” Kel asked Sunny before picking it up anyway. 

Kel looked back at one of the shelves and his eyes were immediately hooked onto one of the books he spotted.

“Yes! That is perfect!” Kel grinned to himself as he grabbed the book from the shelf, “Papa Chip’s Chip Off The Old Block Cookbook! Wow, that is a mouthful…” Kel trailed off.

Sunny tilted his head so Kel decided to explain, “Hero had a copy of this when we were kids but our dog Hector destroyed it. He’ll be so happy to see this!” 

“How much even is this…” Kel turned the book around to check the price, “Twenty dollars!? This is extortion!” Kel began feeling his pockets for his wallet but couldn’t seem to find anything.

“Ugh, Sunny, I left my wallet at home. Think you can spot me?” Kel asked with desperation in his voice, “I’ll pay you back! Promise!” 

Sunny sighed to himself and nodded causing Kel to smile more, “Really? Thank you!”

Sunny and Kel both walked up to Shopkeep who gave a confused look at Sunny but a grin at Kel, “Kel! How have you been buddy? Been a while since you came here! Let me guess, you came to buy that cookbook? You have good taste!”

“Yeah, my brother used to follow his recipes all the time!” Kel smiled, “The cookies were always the best!”

“Alright, 20 bucks please!” Shopkeep held out his hand as Sunny handed him the money.

“Thank you, kind lads! Have a nice day!” 

Kel and Sunny began making their way to the door when Kel spoke up, “Thanks for buying Sunny. Hero will love this!”

Leaving the store Kel looked towards his friend, “Well Sunny, where do you want to go now?”

Sunny sorta shrugged leaving poor Kel stumped. 

“Ooo! I know! Let's head to the park! There are a few things we could do there!” Kel offered. 

So the duo made their way down to the park, Kel obviously ahead while Sunny follows from behind like a shadow.

Only a few steps past the entrance Sunny and Kel walked into a scene they were definitely not expecting.

“Wait! Don’t go! Please, I beg you!” A boy with blond hair, as Kel recognizes as Basil, begged a person on a scooter who was currently about to leave him.

“Sorry, dude. I can’t help you. You’re on your own!” The person on the scooter, Kim replied.

“Uh-oh, that doesn’t look good…” Kel muttered stepping forward cautiously. Sunny made sure to stay close behind, trying to make sure to stay behind Kel.

“Look, this isn’t my business and Aubrey had a rough morning apparently. You got beef with her, settle it yourself freak!” Kim angrily yelled.

Sunny’s eyes lit up at the mention of Aubrey. Basil however didn’t back down, “I’m begging you, just ask her to give it back…she won’t listen to me.”

“Hey! Basil!” Kel suddenly yelled, “What’s happening?”

“Huh?! Uh, I was-” “Oh god, Kel’s here…” Kim interrupted with a groan, “Mind your own business!”

“Well, gee! I just wanted to know what was happening!” Kel folded his arms, “I mean, if you-”

“WHAT IS GOING ON OVER THERE?!”

Suddenly multiple people on scooters moved towards their group. The leader was a very familiar pink-haired girl. Aubrey.

Aubrey held her bat with nails over her shoulder, glaring at Kel with tired eyes. 

“Kel, what do you want?” Aubrey groaned out.

“I just want to know what is happening!” Kel explained.

“Well, you see-” “Shut it, flower boy.” Aubrey shot Basil down before he could speak up. 

“Well Kel, I do not see why I should tell you something that doesn’t involve you,” Aubrey began, “So why don’t you run along and no one will get hurt.”

“Well, I feel like it should be my business! I want to know what is going on!” Kel sighed.

“So, I guess we’re doing this the hard way.” Aubrey moved the bat to point at the ground.

“Guess we are!” Kel groaned, readying his basketball for battle.

He was about to step forward when he felt a tug on his back.

Oh shit Sunny. **Oh shit Sunny.**

Now, Kel doesn’t know how human bodies work that much. He is, however, very sure Sunny wouldn’t be very great at fighting Aubrey with nothing but his hands mainly because the poor boy is a toothpick.

“Uh, actually give me a second.” Kel raised a finger.

“What? Scared?” Aubrey asked, taunting him.

“No, Sunny is here and I don’t think it would be good to fight you like this,” Kel explained, pointing to the boy next to him.

“Wait what.” Aubrey finally noticed Sunny standing right next to Kel. Sunny gave a nervous wave hello before latching onto Kel again.

“Holy shit, whatcha know. Funny how I had the weirdest dream that involved you all last night.” Aubrey laughed, “It was so stupid as well! Honestly wonder how my brain even came up with it.”

“...Question, did you dare me ten dollars to get a critical hit on something or did we have a different dream last night?” Kel asked as a joke.

“...What?” Aubrey on the other hand seemed to actually remember doing that.

“Wait, do you remember doing that or no?” Kel laughed, finding it absolutely hilarious if they did end up having the same dream.

“...” Aubrey sighed and pulled out ten dollars, “If I give you this would you leave?”

“Yes, and I will take Basil with me.” Kel offered.

“Huh?!” Basil looked back and forth confused.

“Deal.” Aubrey threw the money at Kel’s face with no hesitation.

“Ow!” Kel picked up the money after it fell to the ground and Basil began nervously walking over to him. 

“See ya losers!” The scooter gang didn’t stick around much longer, each member going a different way.

Well, that happened. What now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "̷̧͚̦͖̥̪͙̣̟̎̑̀̽̓͌̍̒̽͘Y̶̡̡̗͚̫̹͒̒̽̒̚̕Ơ̵̛̯̻̩̠͍͎̳̰͓̰̈͆̔̑͑̒͐̕̕͜U̶̝̼̪͈͐̓̇̍̽́͜ ̷̢̨̪͕̟̰̜̹̫͙̳̯̻̠̣̓̄̂̒̔͝͠D̶̡̛̮̆̅̉̀͂̅̚O̴̞̮̺̫̪̩̻̖͎̳̞̗͍̓̃́͒͑͛̏̒͊̅̒̈̚͜͠ͅŅ̶̥̝͖͛͂̿͌͛̄͂̋̑̌̋͘̕͝'̸̡̯̣̹̮̻̦̝̫̳̪̘̏̈͑̕T̸̬͍̬̺̯̩̲̞̳̮͖̄̽̾̎́̆̑̆͒̊̓ ̷̢̤̤̜̭̙̣̠̦͓̼̈͊̓͂̓̓̄͑͛̾̈́͝D̴̢̯̫̖̮̤̺͓͔̟̎̒͂̍͝E̵͉͕̜̦̐̆͛̅̑͌̈́͋̋̅̕̚̕͠S̴̖͔̥͓͉̗̪̩̑̆͝E̷̡̠̾͒̈́̐̈́̎́̆͘R̵͚̥̯̯̈́̌̽̂̔͐̿̔͝ͅV̶͓͇̠͛͐̉͐̌̇̑̓̈́͝͝Ȩ̷̰̹͔̤͓͑̓̚ ̵̹̥̭͍̼̼͕͛͊͗͋̍͘͝T̴̹͔̳͋̐͆͛͛̾̇̓̂͗͂͋͘H̶̤̻̹̟̪̪̹̜͙̜̫̰͑̋̊̿̊̆̂͑͗̿͝E̷̡̞̞͇̭̗̅͌̃̋̒͜͝M̶̧̝̘̦̺̦̌̔͂̋̈̅͆͜.̴̗̬͋̎̈́̃͝͠͠"̴̩͕͚͒


	8. Fights with the Hooligans.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kel and Sunny try to find Aubrey after bringing Basil home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something weird: *happens*  
> Kel: Gonna pretend I didn't see that!

Kel decided not to focus on Aubrey right now, Basil was more important. 

“Hey, Basil! It has been a while since we all have talked. How have you been?” Kel began.

“Um, I have been well…” Basil trailed off, nervously rubbing his arm. He turned to Sunny and his eyes widened, “O-oh! Hey Sunny, it has, um, been a while...” Basil nervously stuttered.

“So, you wanna hang out with me and Sunny today?” Kel invited.

“As much as I want to, I should probably head home. My grandma hasn’t been doing so well and um-” Basil began to explain.

“Nah, dude! Don’t worry about it! Sucks your grandma isn’t doing well...want us to walk you home?” Kel offered, so at least he and Sunny can spend some time together with him.

“Y-yeah sure.” Basil accepted.

“Sweet! Let’s get going!” Kel grabbed both Sunny and Basil’s hand and proceeded to drag them around the block. It was going smoothly until a Wormhole from last night’s dream appeared on the sidewalk, grabbing the attention of all three teens.

“What the-” Basil whispered under his breath.

The group blinked and it was gone.

“Heh, I must still be a bit tired. Thought I saw something.” Kel nervously chuckled.

“...Did you mean the floating worm in a black hole? Cause I saw it as well…” Basil felt like he shouldn’t have said that.

Sunny’s eyes widened for a second as he looked at his friends. This didn’t go unnoticed by Kel or Basil, “Y-you both saw it too?” Kel muttered.

All three of them stood in silence for a moment, sweat suddenly appearing on their heads. Kel realized that maybe they could use a distraction, no way that was real...right?

“M-maybe we just saw something from the heat! That would explain it!” Kel decided to come up with a random excuse, “After all it is a hot day out!”

“It isn’t even that hot-” “YEP IT WAS THE HEAT, THANKS FOR AGREEING BASIL. LETS KEEP GOING TO YOUR HOUSE LALALA.” Basil was cut off by Kel as he continued to drag them to Basil’s house, completely trying to avoid any conversation about the wormhole.

Finally, after avoiding a conversation about Wormholes thanks to Kel shouting over Basil, they make it to Basil’s house! 

“We finally arrived!” Kel grinned, still trying to shake the shivers off his back. 

“Uh, thanks for walking me home…” Basil mumbled, somehow still hearable. 

“No problem-o! If ya need something just grab me and I will help!” Kel reassured the boy, “Catch ya later!” 

They were only a few steps away from Basil’s house before Basil yelled, “WAIT! PLEASE DON’T GO!”

Sunny and Kel have never turned around so quickly in their lives.

“A-ah! I mean, I um, I am sorry but I have a favor to ask…” Basil began.

“Anything dude!” Kel reassured. It must be serious if Basil is shouting.

“Well, something very important was taken from me...it was from when we were friends....” Basil continued, “Remember how I used to take photos of everyone?”

“Of course I remember! Those photo’s meant everything to you!” Kel already had a feeling of where this was heading.

“Ah, right. Well you see, Aubrey took my photo album and-” “AUBREY STOLE THE ALBUM!?” Kel could feel the rage bubbling under his skin. He knew Aubrey was rude lately and hanging out with a bad crowd but for her to _steal_ Basil’s photo album? Needless to say, he was pissed.

“...She won’t hand it back to me, no matter how many times I asked,” Basil muttered under his breath.

“WHAT A DICK MOVE!” Kel angrily kicked the ground. Kel quickly covered up his anger when he looked back at Basil, “Don’t worry man! Me and Sunny will get it back!”

Sunny looked over at Kel before turning his head away. Sunny knew no matter what he wanted to do, Kel was probably going to drag himself into a dangerous situation.

Sunny wasn’t blind. He knew when he saw the baseball bat with nails in it that she could easily kick Kel’s and Sunny’s ass.

Sunny felt the weight of the knife he grabbed last night in his back pocket. It was a steak knife but knives are still dangerous. If this goes south at least he can protect him and Kel.

“...Thank you guys…” Basil gave a small smile.

“Also about what you said before, about how we used to be friends,” Kel walked forward and placed a hand on Basil’s shoulder, “We are still friends!”

Basil’s eyes teared up a little, “...Okay.”

Kel walked back towards Sunny and grabbed his hand, “We are on the hunt now Sunny! Let’s get going!”

Their ‘hunt’ began back at the park as Kel looked high and low for any signs of where Aubrey could have gone. While checking the area they noticed one of the scooter members standing still near a tree. A tree that was suspiciously shaking. 

“Hmm, we could ask him where Aubrey could have gone, couldn’t we Sunny?” Kel decided to ask. 

Sunny stood still as if he was thinking before giving a tight nod. Kel walked over to the member and snapped his fingers. “Hey, your name is Charlie right?” Kel began.

Charlie nodded.

“Neat. Do you think you can tell us where Aubrey is?” Kel asked.

“...” Charlie only stared at Kel before walking over to the still shaking tree. She put her hand into a fist and punched the tree, knocking out what looked to be a thirteen-year-old boy.

“WHO, WHAT, WHERE, HOW, AND WHY!?!”

The child angrily shouted. Charlie pointed to the duo which caught the boy’s attention, “Ah! If it isn’t Kel and a weird quiet kid! Have you come here to challenge the almighty ANGEL!” 

“...no, we came looking for Aubrey.” Kel deadpanned. He really preferred not fighting if he could avoid it. 

“Ah, so you came looking for the almighty Aubrey? Hm, you are foolish to think you have a chance of finding her on your own. If you battle with me I shall-” “No! I don’t want to fight!” Kel sighed. He wasn’t going to fistfight a thirteen-year-old boy with barely any experience to find Aubrey.

Kel grabbed Sunny’s hand and dragged him away from the scene while Angel from behind them yelled about how they were cowards. The next place to check was Faraway plaza, which is where they had the unfortunate chance to run into Mikhael. He was hanging out with some ladies trying his hardest to act as a pimp.

He was failing horribly. 

“Mikhael, what are you doing?” Kel asked with a groan.

“Ah! If it isn’t Kel and his weird emo friend! What do you want, my archnemesis? Can’t you see I am busy?” Mikhael tried to show off his ladies. 

“...I was hoping you can tell me where Aubrey is Mikhael.” Kel deadpanned.

“Stop calling me that! I told you many times before that my name is now The Maverick!” Mikhael complained.

“And I have told you many times before that I am not calling you that Mikhael.” Kel shot back, “Do you know where she is or not?” 

“Again! How dare you make a fool of me!” Mikhael shouted, “I, MAVERICK, AM NOT GOING TO STAND FOR THIS! HAVE AT THEE!”

Mikhael ran forward to punch Kel. Kel, however, managed to dodge the attack. Sunny stuck out his leg and Mikhael tripped and fell causing his blond wig to fall off. 

“Nice one Sunny!” Kel grinned at the boy.

Sunny only gave a thumbs up in response.

Mikhael picked up his wig and placed it back on his head, “YOU PESTS! HOW DARE THINE!”

“Dude, not to be rude but that was going to be a bad punch even if it landed.” Kel sighed.

“YOU DARE MAKE A FOOL OUT OF _THE_ MAVERICK! FOR SHAME!”

“Not gonna lie, that was kinda lame.” One of the girls spoke up.

“This isn't worth ten dollars. Let's go get some pizza!” The other girl offered.

“WAIT NO! MY LADIES PLEASE! I HAVE MORE MONEY!”

“Pff dumped,” Kel muttered with a chuckle.

“You may have won this time Kel! Next time however I will be victorious!” Mikhael shouted before storming off. Kel makes a mental note to avoid having any more conversations with him again.

“...You know what? We should have started with Kim and Vance. They are the closest to her.” Kel mumbled to himself, “They are big sugar heads so they could be inside of Othermart.”

As Kel muttered that he realized that Othermart and Otherworld sounded familiar. What a weird coincidence.

Entering the store and heading into the candy shop on the side they spotted Kim and Vance taking candy off the shelves, “Hurry, Vance! Let’s shove it all in our pockets before anyone sees us!”

“Hey, Kim. Have you seen Aubrey anywhere-” “SHOOT IT IS THAT NERD KEL, COME ON VANCE WE NEED TO GO!” 

Kel moved towards the entrance and used his body to block it so Kim and Vance can’t escape. 

“Hold up! You didn’t pay for those!” Kel pointed out causing Kim to get angry.

“SHUT UP NERD, YOU DON’T KNOW ME!”

“Hey! I don’t plan on snitching! Me and Sunny need to find Aubrey!” Kel explained.

“Why? She already handed you ten dollars!” Kim raised a brow, “What else could ya need?”

“Please just tell us where she is! It is important!” Kel tapped his foot impatiently.

“W-well unfortunately for you! I have no idea where she is!” Kim panicked.

“Please, I had enough of this today. Kim, if you tell me where Aubrey is I won’t snitch you out to the store owner.” Kel offered.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t!” Kim was taken back.

“And I won’t if you tell me where Aubrey is!” Kel exclaimed, silently realizing the manager was right behind Kim and Vance.

“YOU TWO AGAIN??” Mrs.Candice spoke up, finally shocking Kim and Vance. “I thought I told you to never come back in here! Smiley, smiley!” 

“Uh-oh,” Vance muttered as he turned around.

“Hand me the stolen candy!” Mrs.Candice held out her hand, waiting for them to comply, “Don’t make me call the cops! Smiley, smiley!”

“We’ve been busted.” Vance groaned.

“Ugh! Fine! Here is your stupid candy!” Kim threw the candy on the floor and ran out of the store with Vance trailing behind.

“Haha! Serves ya right!” Kel laughed before suddenly stopping, “Wait we need to find out where Aubrey is still…”

Kel sighed knowing that he and Sunny needed to chase after them, “Alright Sunny, after them!”

Sunny and he ran out of the store before Kel suddenly stopped. “Hold on Sunny! I have a plan!” Kel ran back into the candy store and picked up random candy off the shelves before bringing them to the front desk.

“Hello, Mrs. Candice!” Kel plopped down the ten-dollar bill Aubrey handed him earlier, “I would like to buy this please!”

After getting a nearly full bag of candy, Kel found his way to Sunny again. “Alright, now we can go!” 

They stepped outside just in time to hear Kim say something about heading home, Kel knew well that if they left he and Sunny failed their mission. He couldn’t allow that to happen. 

“Wait, Kim! I have something for you!” Kel showed off the bag of candy.

“Woah!” Kim and Vance both stared in awe at the bag.

“Tell me where Aubrey is and this bag is yours~” Kel proudly grinned.

“T-The whole bag!?” Kim and Vance’s mouth began to water before Kim shocked her head aggressively, “N-No! You can’t buy me off with candy!”

“Kim. We haven’t had candy for an entire week.” Vance stated, “There is a whole bag in front of us right now. For free.”

Kim began grumbling to herself before Vance whispered, “Can you at least ask if there is taffy?” 

“Vance! We have to stay strong for Aubrey’s sake!” Kim shouted at him.

“B-but-” Vance began.

“No, but! We will get candy when we go to dad’s house.” Kim sighed.

“Okay. I shall stay strong for you sis!” Vance stood proudly.

“Kim~ Vance~ I am waiting~” Kel bounced back and forth.

“Heh! We shall never succumb!” Kim beamed proudly with Vance.

“Damn, really? I thought this plan would work…” Kel trailed off.

“Hah! A waste of time! Let’s go, Vance.” Kim motioned for her brother to follow behind. 

“Wait! You are the only lead we have! You can even have the bag, it also has taffy!” Kel shouted in a panic.

“...Did you say...Taffy?” Vance slowly turned around.

“I see, that changes everything.” Kim turned around with a smile.

Kel somehow feels like he made a mistake.

“You wanna know where she is that bad, don’tcha? WE SHALL SETTLE THIS WITH OUR FIST!” Kim shouted.

“Geez! What is up with everyone wanting to battle everyone in sight!?” Kel loudly complained.

“Boredom probably.” Vance and Kim answered with a shrug, “I mean this town is _way_ too peaceful.”

“...Y'all be weird.” Kel decided.

“We know. NOW LETS BATTLE!” Kim shouted again, “You win, we tell you where Aubrey is. If we win you give us the taffy and never speak to us again!” 

“Deal! I will take both of you on!” Kel yelled.

Sunny decided that was his cue to back away.

Kel got into a battle position that Sunny felt was very familiar to the one his dream world Kel would take.  
Speaking of his dream world, Aubrey and Kel were talking about it earlier. Plus that wormhole in the middle of the sidewalk he, Kel, and Basil could all see. Sunny wasn’t going to brush this off. They were going to talk about this...later perhaps. Kel is busy getting his ass beaten.

“Ow! Geez you two hit hard!” Kel complained as he rubbed a bruise on his arm.

“No crap! We are literally gang members!” Kim laughed as she dodged Kel’s basketball.

Sunny didn’t know if he should feel bad for Kel or grab popcorn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He sat on his bed, holding his head with his hands as his head felt like someone hit him with a hammer. Memories of the night before flew in his head. He could still feel what it was like to be ripped limb from limb as voices called him out for who he was. 

_” YOU ARE AN IDIOT. YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER.”_

_” THAT PLAN WAS AWFUL. ALMOST AS AWFUL AS YOU.”_

_” IT IS YOUR FAULT HE HASN’T SPOKEN TO ANYONE YET. IN FACT, HE PROBABLY LOCKED HIMSELF AWAY TO NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN.”_

_” YOU ARE A FREAK. JUST LIKE THEY ALL TELL YOU.”_

**“You are never going to be forgiven for your crimes. Give it up already. You should just die as she did.”**

He cried harder as the eyes of his own guilt stared him down.


	9. Knife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, it is a knife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is when I get to truly suck at writing! Yay~! (This is just me being angry at a scene I felt I could have done better, don't mind me.)

Kel was laying on the ground with a few bruises marked against his face.

“Teaches you to mess with us loser!” Kim bragged as she picked up the candy bag.

“Please, Kim! We need to know where Aubrey is! She stole something really important for all of us and we need to get it back!” Kel begged, hoping to some god out there that Kim listens.

Kim and Vance both stopped moving and Vance turned around to look at Kim. Kim let out a sigh and turned to Kel, “She is at the church.”

“Huh?” Out of all places Kel was expecting her to be, it definitely was not the church.

“Shut up, you wanted to know so there!” Kim grumbled, “If she asks, I didn’t say anything! Say it was Mikhael or something.”

“Kim we gotta go before mom gets mad ya know?” Vance began walking ahead.

“See ya losers!” Kim walked away as well leaving Sunny and Kel alone.

“The church? Why would Aubrey go to church?” Kel pondered aloud, “Whatever, as long as we get the photo album back for Basil I don’t care if she was in Mexico. Let’s go Sunny!” Kel grabbed the teen's hand and began walking towards the church.

~~~~~~

A bad feeling swirled in his gut, he felt awful as he laid on top of his bed.

He didn’t know why but it felt like something awful was going to happen.

Maybe Kel is right, the sun was messing with them.

Everything is going to be okay...isn’t it?

~~~~~~

“Alright, we’re here.” Kel sighed to himself. He saw Aubrey’s scooter was parked next to the side of the church and they watched as four people walked inside, “This is honestly the last place I would have pictured her at.”

Sunny walked forward to the door and opened it just a crack. Kel decided to look through the crack as well. 

It looked like a normal sermon to them. Everyone was sitting quietly with their heads down. Aubrey was easy to pick from the crowd with her bright pink hair.

“...We should wait outside, I would feel bad interrupting- and you walked right in. Okay then.” Kel sighed as Sunny walked past him into the church.

Sunny and Kel walked inside, their feet only making the floor gently creak. They managed to nab a seat right behind Aubrey.

“Psst Aubrey, we need to talk,” Kel whispered behind her ear, causing her to slightly jump.

“What the- didn’t I pay you ten bucks to leave me alone!” She whispered back.

“Yeah, that was before I found out about his photo album that you stole,” Kel muttered.

He heard Aubrey take in a deep breath before she turned around to face him. Why does everyone he knows today seem so exhausted? 

“Look, I know that you like playing the hero and everything, but this is personal.” Aubrey sighed.

“Well, it is personal to me as well. We have photos of everyone in there, plus our memories!”

“Kel, I am only going to say this once. Stay out of this. If Basil wants it so badly, he will come to me.”

“We both know he won’t! Have you seen him lately? I may be stupid but I am not dumb! He looks anxious all the time and I just want to help him.”

“Sometimes people don’t need help Kel. Did he ask you to help him with his problems?”

“Actually, yes I did.” Kel deadpanned.

“...” Aubrey stayed silent before letting out another sigh, “Do you even know why I took it?”

“No?” Kel gave a confused look.

“Heh, what I thought. Maybe ask Basil why I took it and then find out why I don’t plan to hand it back.”

“Ugh, I don’t care what he did! I just want to see him happy! If that means I need to steal it from you I will!” 

“Try me.” Aubrey stood up and walked out of her row, “If ya want it that badly, meet me at the park.” She proceeded to storm out the building, her bat in tow.

“Damn it…” Kel sighed to himself.

He knew another fight was coming and after the last one, he knew that his ass was destined to be kicked. He had no chance of winning, after all, she has a bat! With nails in it! Who would survive that?!

“Sunny do you have any ideas on how we can beat her?” he decided to ask his companion.

Sunny seemed to look down in thought before getting up. He made a motion for Kel to follow him outside.

Outside of the church, Sunny made Kel hold out his hands.

Was he planning to give Kel a weapon? What kind of weapon did he have that could beat a bat with-

Sunny pulled out a steak knife and put it in Kel’s hand.

Kel’s body froze up and Sunny looked at him with confusion. Was-was Sunny telling Kel to stab Aubrey?

“Sunny, my dear friend, my number one amigo that I would trust with my life.” Kel took in a deep breath, “Why do you have a knife?!?”

Sunny just sorta stared at Kel and then shrugged. 

“Sunny knives are dangerous! I am not going to-” “Scare her.” Sunny spoke for the first time, his voice sounding like he hasn’t spoken in several years. It honestly looked like his own voice scared him.

“...What?”

“Scare her,” Sunny stated again.

Kel took a moment to process what Sunny had said. He could actually use the knife to scare Aubrey into handing the album over. Would that even work?

“...I guess that could work. Still concerned about why you were carrying a knife.” Kel muttered.

“Later.” Sunny shrugged.

“Yeah, for now, we need to get Basil’s photo album.” Kel nodded in agreement.

~~~~~~

The awful feeling grew. It was suffocating. Almost as if he did something bad in school and the principal called his parents and now he was awaiting punishment from them.

Heh, like his parents had even cared for him in the first place.

Tears began to roll down his eyes as he let out a laugh.

_“Why are you laughing? You shouldn’t laugh. It isn’t funny.”_

Oh, but it was. He deserved it. He deserved to be laughed at, but since no one is here to laugh at him but himself he must take the roll. He was a joke. A stupid joke.

_“It isn’t funny. Stop. Stop it.”_

He couldn’t stop. Even if he wanted to he couldn’t. It was just too funny. How much of a joke his life is.

**“You shouldn’t laugh because you don’t deserve it. No one deserves to laugh at you. You are a horrible joke. An offensive joke that shouldn’t exist. You shouldn’t laugh.”**

He stopped laughing. It was replaced with sobs.

~~~~~~

Kel stepped into the park where Aubrey was waiting patiently, her bat to her side and a smile on her face.

“Ah, so you came.” she taunted.

“You knew I would,” Kel spoke back.

“Yeah, I did. Though I thought by now Sunny would have left.” Aubrey looked over to the skinny teen.

“Sunny is here because I promised him we would hang out together. I ain’t going back on it because of you.” Kel stated.

“Then let’s begin. I can easily beat up a moron like you any day.” She grinned, tapping the bat on the ground like she was getting ready to swing.

“I may be a moron but,” Kel pulled out the knife dramatically, “I am a dangerous moron! Fear me!”

“KEL WHAT THE HECK!”

“What? Scared?” Kel laughed.

“A knife!? Are you for real!? Where did you even get that!?” Aubrey asked, actually terrified that the stupidest person she knows has a knife.

“Sunny had it.” Kel shrugged.

“Why did Sunny have a knife!?” Aubrey proceeded to get more concerned.

“Don’t know. I planned on asking that later.” Kel shrugged again.

“I- UGH!” Aubrey wanted to wack her head on the nearest thing in sight.

“Oh come on! You have a weapon that could kill me too!” Kel groaned.

“For intimidation, dumbass! I wasn’t planning on using it!” Aubrey argued.

“Then who says that I can’t use a knife for intimidation!” Kel argued back.

Sunny wishes he had a bowl of popcorn right now.

“This is stupid! Here have the fucking album! I ain’t dealing with people who carry knives around like idiots!” Aubrey groaned as she grabbed the Photo Album from her book bag and threw it.

Kel was unfortunate enough to have it wack his face, which Aubrey counted as a personal win.

“Now, leave me alone assholes!” Aubrey stormed off, her feet still being able to be heard as she made her way back to her house.

“...That was certainly something, wasn’t it Sunny?” Kel sighed.

Sunny nodded in response. 

“Well, now that is all done and over with-” Kel looked towards Sunny with an unreadable expression across his face, “Tell me, why did you have a knife?”

Sunny felt his throat tighten as he looked at Kel with little beads of sweat dashing down his face. His eyes filled with panic as he tried to come up with a good excuse for having a knife. His hands twitched as if he was looking for it himself.

The scenery seemed to change as the sun dimmed and Sunny’s breathing got quicker. The ground underneath also seemed to dampen as if it had suddenly rained. Kel immediately regretted his decision in asking that question.

“H-hey! Calm down! You don’t need to answer that right now, though you have to tell me later.” Kel put his hands on Sunny’s shoulders, “I gotcha, alright? Breathe.”

Sunny seemed to tense up before Kel hugged him. Rubbing his back and trying to calm down his friend. Sunny latched on to Kel like a lifeline before his breaths began to decrease. 

“It’s alright. It’s alright.” Kel muttered, “Everything will be okay.”

**“E V E R Y T H I N G W I L L B E O K A Y.”**

The words rang in Sunny’s mind as his breathing stopped. His whole body froze. Everything will be okay...he trusted those words before. Can he trust them again?

“Sunny? Are you okay?” Kel asked, still rubbing circles into his back.

Sunny breathed again and all the tension from his body faded away. He bit his lip as he set his mind straight. He had to act like everything was okay. Everything is okay.

Sunny released Kel and nodded keeping his eyes on the ground.

“...Alright I won’t ask about why you had a knife okay? Just don’t carry one around like that again. Okay?” Kel waited for Sunny to answer.

Sunny gave a quick nod, still looking only at the ground. The scenery changed back to normal.

“Then let’s head to Basil’s house. I’d bet he would be happy to see that we were able to accomplish our mission!” Kel beamed, trying to lighten the mood so Sunny could feel better after...whatever just happened. He grabbed Sunny’s hand again and pulled him towards Basil’s house.

~~~~~~

He curled in on himself while he sat on his bed. The voices won’t leave him alone, in fact, they have been growing more restless since last night. Why must they ruin everything for him? He just wants to have a normal day.

_“You shouldn’t have sent them to get it.”_

_“They are going to hate you. She will tell them why she took it.”_

_“Can’t you do things yourself you worthless trash? Get it yourself”_

**“They are wasting their time. They should leave you to die alone instead of wasting their precious lives on you. It is what you deserve.”**

He nodded in agreement. Why should they waste their time with-

**KNOCK! KNOCK!**

~~~~~~

Sunny and Kel knocked on the front door of Basil’s house. Kel tapped his foot impatiently as Sunny swung slightly left and right while waiting.

The door swung open and revealed not Basil but a woman. That woman seemed to be old, perhaps in her 30’s? Kel couldn’t tell.

“Oh, hello there! Who might you two be?” The woman asked the duo.

“Um, you're not Basil…” Kel trailed off, wondering why this woman would be in Basil’s house. She doesn’t look like him enough to be his mother.

“Ah, pardon me! My name is Polly! I am Basil’s caretaker!” Polly introduced herself.

Basil nervously appeared in the doorway, peaking out like an animal checking for predators. 

If Kel looked closely he could see that Basil’s eyes looked a bit red. Who knows, maybe he didn’t just didn’t get enough sleep last night.

...Why did his gut feel like something was wrong?

“Oh, hey Kel. W-What is it?” Basil asked nervously.

“Hey, Basil! We got the album back!...are you okay?” Kel asked.

“Y-yes! Of course! I am a little tired but otherwise, I am fine!” Basil gave a small smile for reassurance.

...Something felt off, Kel couldn’t place his finger on it.

Kel wished he could know what he got himself into when he walked inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "̶̢̖̣̻͎͑͋͂̍͐͘Ë̸̩̣̘̱́̀v̴̲̇͂͂̍͊ͅe̷̲͂̓͝r̵̡̧͛̿̒̂̽y̸̢̞̦͓̯̌͛ṯ̶̻̺̎̆ḥ̷͈͍͎̪̉͆̇̕͠ͅi̶̱̼̣̗n̶͖̟͉͚̝̻͂̄͘ǵ̸̥͆ ̴̩̇w̸̙͆̋̈́̊̓i̴̡̘̮̮͎̺̯̾̀̿̅̌̀͠͝l̴̛͈͓̄̉͂l̶͔̩̏͆͆̽ͅ ̵̥̜̳̼͍̰͕̬̈́̒̾b̴̧̨͎̠̳͕̠̿̎̊̈́͒̉͗̋ḛ̴̯́̇̚ ̶̛̺͈̮͉̭͑͌́̂͗͝͝ȯ̴̧̖͔̩̜̗̝̿̒̆͠k̸̛̯̝̪̯̜̮͕̎̍̉͗̈́͋͘ä̶̢̢̱̥͇̮̞͙́͊̕y̴̰̗̅̓͛̍̚.̴̛͎̝̺̩̳͍̻̤͛̑̇̎͛͠.̵̛̰̺̘̤͓̅̔.̴̺͖̟͇̎̒w̶͉͗̔̍͗̈̄̓o̸͈̹n̵̼̮̑̑'̴̡̢̟̻͓͎̘̈́͗͌͗͛͊͘͘t̴̗̞̮̮̪͒ ̶̮͈͙̍̈̿͆͊̐͘i̸̯̥̣͔͉̔t̶̡͉̹͔͇͗̌̕͝?̵̩͚̯͔̻̭̂͂̂̄̎̆"̴̪͚͙̯̇̓̚


	10. Bathroom break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanging out at Basil's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate the way I wrote Kel this chapter. He feels a bit OOC, I will definitely try to make up for it next chapter. Speaking of the next chapter, well, I have plans~
> 
> Also, shout out to Tumblr user Mossyhappenings because if it wasn't for them I would probably be stuck on how to write Kel still.

Inside of Basil’s place looked the same as Kel remembered. Plants on the shelves and everything seemed brighter as if the area emitted peaceful vibes for anyone who saw it. Today however it felt off. Like something was wrong. It could be what happened with Sunny earlier getting on his nerves but it felt like he was being watched by something behind him. 

When he checked, however, nothing was there.

“Please, make yourself comfortable!” Polly greeted warmly, “I’ll go ahead and finish dinner!”

“It has been a while since I have last been here, you definitely have more plants than you used to…” Kel tried to make small talk.

“Ah, yeah. I like them a lot. I still have some from when you guys used to come here daily.” Basil nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

“Wow, you sure are dedicated to them!” Kel praised. Sunny nodded in agreement.

“Hey, if it isn’t too much to ask, can we look through the photo album?” Kel asked nicely. 

“U-uh, I mean- I don’t know...” Basil began to twiddle his fingers.

“Come on, please?” Kel asked again.

“Umm, sure…okay then…” Basil slowly approached before sitting down next to Kel.

Sunny followed Basil and sat down next to him.

“Alright! Let’s take a look!” Kel opened the album revealing the first page.

The first page was missing some photos, though still, some had remained. The rest was probably taken by Aubrey by the surprise of no one. Oh well, they can get the rest another day. For now, it was photo time!

There was a photo from when Sunny had first gotten his violin, oh man does Kel remember that day well. Sunny looked so surprised to see it! The way he played his first few notes and rang out a simple yet well-done melody would never leave Kel’s mind.

There was also a photo of him wearing multiple party hats on his face. Kel began to chuckle at what Basil wrote about him wearing so many. He will admit that the marks on his face afterward sort of hurt but it was worth it for all the laughs it caused.

Then there was a photo of Sunny on his GameBoy. Kel doesn’t remember what game Sunny was playing at the time, unfortunately, though he did agree with the dialog Basil wrote next to the photo on how Sunny was always great to vent to. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t remember Sunny ever venting to anyone about his problems. 

Remembering the scene in the park, maybe Kel should offer later.

On the next page there was a photo of Kel and Hero's arm wrestling and then immediately a photo of him losing. 

“You know, I could probably beat Hero now that I am stronger!” Kel boasted.

Sunny and Basil both glanced at each other before looking back at Kel.

“Hey! What are those looks meant to mean?” Kel asked accusingly.

Basil let out a small chuckle at that and Sunny just looked away.

The next photo was Hero trying to kiss Kel to try and make him feel better about the loss. Kel laughed at that. At the time he was pissed off and didn’t want to be hugged as you can easily tell by looking at the said photo. Kel right now though thinks that past him being petty was honestly kinda funny.

The next photo was of Sunny and Basil reading a book together in a tent. This was from the day they decided to camp together at the hangout area! Kel remembered that the burgers Hero made that day was so delicious! What a lovely time it was.

This photo was of everyone cuddling with Sunny’s stuffed animals! Kel gained a bright smile on his face when he looked at that. Every single one of them was super comfy and soft. He almost fell asleep on top of Sunny, that would have been funny!

There were so many other photos! The one where he and Sunny were holding Mari’s flower crown so Basil could get a cool photo! Hero making his own flower crown and failing awfully. Aubrey in the rain, posing for Basil’s photo of her! The one where he stood out from Sunny’s umbrella to taste the rain which ended up in him getting soaked. There were so many more!

Kel felt his chest tighten up. So many memories of him and his friends being happy. Now when he looks at them he can see just how much has changed between them all. 

It honestly hurt...though he would be damned if he let his emotions ruin the mood.

“Heh, sorry we weren’t able to get back most of the photos…” Kel sighed as he watched the pages become less full of their memories.

“H-Huh? Oh, don’t worry about it!” Basil let out a nervous chuckle, “I-Im just glad you were able to get it safely.”

“Same here!” Kel grinned.

The mood seemed to lighten but Kel still felt like something was off, maybe it is just him worrying over nothing.

“Don’t worry about the other photo’s as well, we’ll eventually get them back!” Kel smiled, “Meanwhile you can go back to being happy and carefree!”

“Okay...thanks.” Basil gave a sheepish smile but a smile nonetheless. Kel will take that as a personal win!

Polly walked over from the kitchen area with a sigh, “Sorry for the wait, dinner is taking longer than I expected. Would any of you like to help?” she asked.

Kel immediately shot up, “Heck yeah! I’ll help you out! I know a few things from watching my brother and helping him out most of the time!”

“That would be lovely! Please follow me to the kitchen!” Polly convinced Kel to come over. 

Kel calmly walked over and began helping out Polly the best he could. Obviously, he wasn’t grade A but with Polly’s help, he was getting a hang of it. From the corner of his eyes, however, he could see Basil and Sunny.

Sunny walked over to Basil and Basil greeted him but Sunny didn’t give him much attention, only giving him a short wave back. Eventually Sunny left the living room altogether. Kel couldn’t blame him for wanting to explore and mess around, he was probably just bored.

Basil was also watching Sunny, almost like he was nervous...why would he be nervous? Kel doesn’t know but who knows, maybe Basil is making sure Sunny doesn’t break anything and Kel is just overthinking.

The feeling of dread he has been feeling the whole time began to pile up more though like he can sense something bad- no, something awful was coming soon.

He really hopes it is just his paranoia from earlier.

Basil also left the living room, following Sunny into a different room. Maybe he is going to just show him what changed. Nothing more, nothing less.

“So Kel, do you have any plans for tomorrow?” Polly asked.

“Yeah, my older brother Hero is coming over tomorrow from college.” Kel sighed, he can’t wait to see him again.

“Oh! How lovely!” Polly smiled as she continued making the food.

Kel’s stomach still felt like he ate a ton of bricks earlier. Hopefully, continuing cooking will take his mind off the awful feeling. 

It didn’t, however, it did make him hungry with how good it smelled though.

“May you yell for your friends and let them know food is done?” Polly politely asked.

“H-huh!? Oh yeah, sure!” Kel nodded, snapping out of his thoughts.

“SUNNY! BASIL! DINNER’S READY!”

“Okay! Coming!” Basil’s voice responded, with a little weight to it, almost like it was holding something back.

Basil walked into the living room first, he turned around and pointed behind him, “Sunny just entered the bathroom, give him a moment.”

“Ah, he is probably making room for dinner!” Polly joked around.

“Probably!” Basil let out a nervous laugh.

Kel smiled despite his fears, everything will be okay...right?

The trio moved dinner to the dining room table. Polly put food on the plates and spread them out around the table. Basil and Polly sat next to each other while Kel took the seat at the top of the table. 

Sunny walked out of the bathroom and took a look at every one. He moved towards the seat across the table and looked at his plate, almost like it was going to come alive and kill him if he poked it.

“Come on Sunny! Eat! Trust me, the food is awesome! I know because I helped make it!” Kel beamed, trying to convince the young teen to eat.

“Thank you for the help earlier Kel, you might make an amazing cook!” Polly praised.

“Nah, that was always Hero’s role. Thanks for the compliment though!” Kel laughed, taking a bite of his food, “Speaking of Hero, my mom is going crazy trying to get everything ready for him back at home! Don’t wanna be anywhere near that mess hehe!”

“Although I can’t wait for him to come home!” Kel took another bite, “Each time he came home we compared each other’s heights. It is fun!”

“Who knows, maybe this year you will be taller than him!” Basil smiled.

“Heh! I sure hope so! I have been making sure to stretch every day in hopes of it!” Kel laughed.

“You and your brother seem close! That is good! Family is important!” Polly gave a cheerful grin.

Kel nodded and turned towards Sunny, noticing the Photo Album next to Sunny on the other chair next to him, “Hey Sunny, what are you doing with the Photo Album?”

“O-oh! I, um, gave it to him!” Basil smiled, “It felt right to let him have it.”

“Woah, that is so cool of you! It makes sense since Sunny is moving away!” Kel shrugged.

He will soon regret those words.

Basil’s face seemed to darken as he turned to Kel with a shocked expression, “W-what? Sunny is...m-moving?” 

Kel felt cold hands touch his back as he shivered a bit, “Oh? You didn’t already know? I mean- the sign has been up in front of his house for a month…”

“It has!?” Basil’s face went from shock to fear before being quickly covered up, “I must have never noticed…”

“Yeah, he is moving in three days…” Was it just Kel or did Sunny look like he was sweating again.

“...I um- I am going to the bathroom, pardon me…” Basil got up and practically ran towards the bathroom, its door shutting with a heavy thud.

Polly sighed, “That poor boy, he has been under a lot of stress lately. Can you two go check on him?” she asked with concern in her voice.

Kel and Sunny nodded, both getting up at the same time and walking to the bathroom.

The feeling of dread that Kel had been feeling this whole time has finally hit its mark. His body froze as he reached for the doorknob. If it wasn’t for Sunny being there and opening the door for them Kel would have said Basil locked it and went home. 

He never felt anything like this, like a demon was in his body and ripping him in half. It scared him.

What scared him more was behind the door.

Basil was looking towards the mirror, aggressively shaking he wraps his arms around himself. Sunny stood still as if he was processing everything that was happening as well. Kel couldn’t find the strength in him to speak.

_“Everything will be okay, everything will be okay, everything will be okay, everything will be-”_

Basil chanted to himself as if he says it enough times it will come true. Kel felt his blood run cold as he realized he told Sunny those words only a few hours ago. Those words felt wrong when they came out like that.

A black shadow covered the ground, pulsating like the one he saw in the first dream he had in that weird dream world. Why was it here in the real world? Why was it staying with Basil? It flashed in and out as if it was a flickering light stuck in the ground.

Basil suddenly turned around as the door clicked close behind the duo, his blue eyes shining in the dark. Normally Kel would think that it was cool the way Basil’s eyes shined, but as of right now they looked like the eyes of a scared animal.

“K-Kel! Sunny! I- um, sorry for worrying you both! I am fine!” Basil lied as the monster slowly rose from the floor, surrounding Basil.

Basil didn’t seem to notice it at all, keeping his eyes on Sunny and Kel. His piercing gaze made it feel like Kel was being stared through.

Sunny took a few steps forward towards Basil and looked behind him into the mirror. The mirror that showed the shadow monster from Kel’s dream last night. Kel suddenly felt lightheaded. Why was he seeing it in the real world?

“U-um, w-we should leave the b-bathroom, we’re probably worrying Polly.” Basil nervously stuttered. Kel moved forward next, this feels like the same situation he dealt with in the park earlier with Sunny. 

Except there were a bunch of demons in the room. No way they were real though...right? Kel must be hallucinating, it is late after all. 

Kel grabbed Basil’s shoulders and nodded then looked at Sunny. He silently wished he didn’t because Sunny looked absolutely terrified. 

_He was terrified because he could see the monsters as well._

Kel felt pale as he moved to grab Sunny and pulled both him and Basil out of the bathroom. The monsters didn’t like that for they tried to reach out to them before Kel shut the door on them.

A thud could be heard on the other side.

Kel was clearly shaken by what just happened, but as he turned around to check on Sunny and Basil he realized they weren’t as shaken as him. In fact, Sunny’s face turned back into his neutral expression and Basil only bit his lip nervously.

It looked like this wasn’t their first time seeing anything like that. That is what terrified Kel the most.

“Are you two okay?” Kel decided to ask.

“Y-yeah?” Basil and Sunny nodded.

“That’s good.” Kel took in a deep breath, “So, what was that?”

Sunny tried to muster a good confused face while Basil straightened up, “Wh-what are you talking about? Absolutely nothing just happened!”

Kel blankly stared at the duo before grabbing the doorknob to the bathroom and opened the door. As expected the monsters were shown behind Basil and Sunny through the mirror. Kel quickly shut the door and turned back to them with the same expression.

“Y-yep! A-Absolutely nothing in there- oh who am I kidding…” Basil sighed and turned to Sunny who also looked like he gave up on trying to hide what they just saw.

Kel took in a deep breath, “So you are familiar with them?”

Sunny and Basil both looked at each other and nodded.

Kel sighed, “You know what, I am way too tired for this. I am going to go home and hopefully get a good night's rest. That should be enough time for you to find a way to put this in words I understand.”

“Seems like a g-good idea to me…” Basil turned towards Sunny who nodded in agreement.

“Good, now if you excuse me, I need to compliment Polly on the food and then go home to scream about what happened,” Kel stated before promptly entering the living room.

“Ah, Kel is Basil okay?” Polly asked politely. 

“Yep. I need to head home quick, otherwise, mom is going to kill me. See ya, Polly!” Kel flashed a fake smile before calmly leaving the house.

The moment he was out of sight did he finally allow his emotions to show. He was exhausted and upset? He couldn’t tell the second one, it could also be a worry for Basil and or Sunny and Kel was too tired to settle his emotions out. He felt like a million thoughts were screaming in his head and the feeling of dread flowed through his body. 

He doesn’t know what those monsters are but he will protect Sunny and Basil from them. No matter what.

~~~~~~

_So you weren’t able to talk about him with the dreams. What a shame. You would ask Basil where he was in the dream but you already know where._

**After all, you can still hear his screams as he gets to die over and over. Your gut feels ill just thinking about it. You might want to run home, your stomach isn’t agreeing again.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "̴̠̠̌̉̉̾D̶̗̹͓̭́́̇̕͜ô̶̱̗n̴͑̾̏̐͜͝'̷̠͌t̵͚̯͖̪͌ ̸̝͍̼̇͋y̵̢̲͊̕o̵̯̻͎̱͆͒̚ů̵̱̽ ̸̞̋̿͛̏f̵̭̐͌͒e̴̡̙̯̒̐e̷͈͐̑̉͊l̴̜͂ ̴̢͕̯͈̖͛y̶̹͑̿͠o̷͎̻̻̅ŭ̶̲͚̬̄̔̉̔r̵͇̼͖̲͙̽̑ ̷͖͂̍ş̷̱̝̠̕i̶̭͔͍̯͌̽͜ṋ̷̤̣̕s̴̝͋̈́͐͒͜?̷̭͈̿ ̷̲̠̍͆̂̾Ṡ̴̡̠̘͍̯̍h̸̛̻̗̮̓̀̾e̸̡͓̱͙̟̍ ̷͔̝̜̌͜͝k̴̲̟͈̥͚͋̐̑n̴̥̬͖̣͒̾̈́̀͝ȏ̵̺̔̃w̶̤̙̟͊̿̕͠s̸͍̤̻̙͓ ̴͖͓̖̠̮͂̍͘w̴̪̝̺̟͌̊h̴̳̳͋̐a̶͔̺͔̍͆̓ẗ̵̳́ ̴̼̭̈̽͝y̶̤̙͊̀̅̈́ó̶̱͒ů̸͍̼̟̞͈͌͒ ̴̡̇͠͠d̸̹̰̄̚į̵̬̤̥̮̓d̶̙͔̔̉.̶͕ ̶̨̙̣̭̌S̶̛̛̱̦̈́̇h̵̳̞̐̑ͅe̵̡͚͉͂͐ͅ ̷̼̒̑̚k̷̼̭̝̼̹̿͐n̵͔̹̭̓̾̍͝ò̵̳͓̜̅̔̾w̴͎̩̓̔̈́ͅs̵̯̉͊͊ ̶͓̦͈̓͜͠ỉ̶͍̘ţ̴̩̜͉̌̿͊̃ ̴̡̞̺̤̩̌w̷̬̳̓͠a̴͎̟͛͘s̵̩̭̩̫͖͌̉́̉̿ ̴̖̩̝̪̹͝ȳ̵̞̲̙͂͛o̴̯̟̊ü̴̫̻̥̭̂r̸̢̳͉̮͑͆ ̸̨̽̾̽̕ǐ̶̘̭̳͍͜d̵̦̞͙̑͝ě̷̘̮̑̉̉a̷̢̧̡̒.̵͇̝̥̞̉̃̈́͆͜͝ ̴̖̭̻͚̾̎̂F̶̡̙̈́̊o̶̡͓̺̭̤͑̋̈o̶̺̞̜͈͖͋͝l̶̲̪͈͑.̸̗̇"̶͍̘̱̠̝̉͘͝


	11. Pyrefly Forest Pt1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hero and Omori hate on spiders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero POV? Hero POV! We get to watch the only man with brain cells do things while hating on spiders!

Needless to say, Hero had been feeling off all day. It began with the weird dream about needing to find Basil, then when he found out what the violin meant in a dream and deduced what it could have possibly been since it was broken he was on an edge of some kind. 

At one point the feeling of dread raised so high in his stomach that his colleagues were concerned about how pail he was getting. He assured them that he was fine and just needed some rest.

He also began seeing figures, mainly the dream beings from last night. He just assumed he needed to get some sleep.

The feeling of dread grew even more during the day. It even got to the point where he felt woozy and almost threw up because of it. Then it randomly left as if it was never there. Hero still doesn’t understand what happened.

Maybe he should go see a doctor when he arrives in Faraway tomorrow, hopefully, his parents wouldn’t mind that. 

He set up his bed for the night and stared at the ceiling. He wonders if he will have a continuation of his dream last night. He sure hoped not, they always begin so nice but end so horribly. Maybe he can try to wake himself up before everything turns south but how would he manage to do that? 

He would try getting beaten up a lot but that just sounds unpleasant and he also learned that he turns into toast when too badly damaged so that isn’t going to work.

He pulled the covers over himself and just prayed to whatever god out there that exists to not give him the dream.

~~~~~~

You know what? He should have expected the gods liked feeding off his suffering. Why? Cause he is back in the colorful room with Kel and Aubrey.

“Hey, Aubrey! I forgot to say this earlier but thanks for the money!” Kel smiled at her.

“Whatever, I just wanted you out of my sight.” Aubrey groaned.

“Did I miss something?” Hero decided to ask, lost on what they are talking about.

“Yeah, Aubrey gave me ten bucks for giving me a critical while fighting the windows downloader.” Kel looked over to Aubrey who rolled her eyes.

“Huh.” That was all Hero had to say in response to that.

The white door creaked open and out came Omori, still looking a lot like Sunny. Hero still felt like an idiot for not recognizing Omori as Sunny before Mari brought up him being her little brother. 

Who knows, maybe when he visits Faraway he could convince Sunny to come out of his house.

Omori walked over and sat down next to them. 

“Hey, Omori! Guess who just gave me ten dollars!” Kel grinned.

Omori simply pointed over to Aubrey who rolled her eyes yet again, “Seriously Kel, getting ten dollars isn’t much.”

“Yeah I know, I just like bragging.” Kel laughed.

“So are we all ready to begin searching for Basil...again?” Hero asked as he got up.

Everyone followed suit by getting up and nodding.

“We should go see Mari first, right? She might know something.” Aubrey suggested.

“That would be a good idea.” Hero nodded in agreement.

“Alright! Onwards to Mari!” Kel ran up the stairs quickly before stopping, “Wait, she is at the park right?”

Omori gave him a quick nod with a thumbs up.

“Sweet, thanks, Omori!” Kel ran outside the stump.

“We better catch up to him…” Hero sighed as he and Aubrey ran after him.

Omori was a little bit behind, talking to the snake and collecting 750 clams before making his way out as well.

Hero was in no way used to seeing Mari. She just acted so...real? If that was the right word. He couldn’t tell. He had dreams of Mari before, normally a nightmare and on a lucky occasion, it was him reliving a memory.

He sighed when he caught up to Kel who was already bragging about getting ten dollars from Aubrey to her.

He wondered if anyone else here felt the same way. Well, probably not, after all, it isn’t like he, Aubrey, and Kel were all having the same dream...right?

Actually, now that he thinks about it, that could actually be the case. It could be that he is sharing a dream with Kel and Aubrey. There is a lot of evidence that supports it, like Kel getting the ten dollars he and Aubrey betted about in secret. The currency here is clams, not dollars, if they were dream versions of themselves Kel would be talking about clams instead.

Omori also acted strangely. He may not talk but his body language says a lot about him. What if he actually is Sunny? The temptation to call him that is large but he feels like if he says it something unpleasant might happen.

Hero suddenly got an idea. He would text Kel about what happened in this dream and see if Kel says he had the same thing happen to him. He would just need to find the time to do it. 

Right now however Kel was waving him and the others over to Mari.

“Hey, Mari!” Aubrey waved.

“Hello, Mari!” Hero walked forward with Aubrey towards Mari who was looking at them with a huge grin.

“Hello everyone! Glad to see you all are safe.” Mari warmly smiled at them.

“Yep! We’re all good!” Kel smiled.

Omori walked up to Mari and opened his arms. She took that as an opportunity to hug him, “Glad you are safe as well Omori!”

Hero’s heart melted. Everything he would trade in the world to see Mari and Sunny like this again, for everything to go back to normal. It hurt to watch.

“So, do any of you have anything to bring up about finding Basil?” Mari asked.

“Still nothing. I don’t think he would be in...Otherworld? That is the name right?” Kel looked over to Hero who nodded, “Yeah Otherworld is its name.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he is in Otherworld either. He would have been found by Spaceboy by now.” Aubrey added.

“So Otherworld is checked off. Are there any other places we can explore?” Hero asked Mari.

“Hmm there is a forest west to the stump but I have a feeling you wouldn’t like going there, Hero. Nor would Omori by any chance.” Mari informed the group.

“Huh? Why?” Hero asked as Omori tilted his head.

Mari nervously clicked her tongue, “Um, well, there are a lot, and I do mean a lot of insects crawling about.”

“Huh? Well yeah, it is a forest after all.” Kel rolled his eyes, “Hero and Omori should be fine.”

“Yeah, I would normally agree with you Kel but most residents in the areas are mainly spiders…” Mari trailed off.

Hero and Omori both froze at the mention of spiders. A million thoughts began going through his head at lightning speed. 

_This is a dream, right? So they should be absolutely harmless, right?_

_Once again though this is a dream. What if they are absolutely terrifying? Hero doesn’t want to deal with that._

“Oh, I think you broke them…” Aubrey muttered under her breath.

“Yikes, they aren’t going to have fun at all.” Kel sighed.

“I know it may be tough for you two, but I believe you can get through it! After all, if it makes you feel better, you can beat them up!” Mari tried to make the situation at least seem a bit better.

That at least seemed to take Omori out of his fear a bit. Guess he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to stab something or someone. Classic Omori…? Hero didn’t know.

“Come on Hero, need me to play older brother and hold your hand?” Kel teased jokingly. He wasn’t expecting Hero to actually grab his hand.

“You get to kill the spiders. The moment I see one I will do nothing but cower.” Hero decided.

“Pff, fine you baby. I’ll kill the spiders for you.” Kel laughed.

Listen, you might think Hero’s fear is a bit irrational but he’ll have you know that he has dealt with spiders a ton in his life. If he is far away from it he will simply run. If he sees it blocking his path he will stay still until the spider moves. If he is nearby it and notices he will panic. Why? Cause when he was five he woke up with a giant spider crawling on his face and life had never been the same.

“Alright, are we done coaxing Omori and Hero into going into the forest?” Aubrey asked, “Cause I am ready to go destroy things!”

“That’s the spirit!” Mari cheered.

Hero sighed. He really was going to deal with this, wasn’t he? Sometimes he wished he could make Basil appear with his mind but that would be too easy wouldn’t it?

Omori began leading the way, instead of heading to the forest however he headed down.

“Omori? This isn’t the right way…” Kel pointed out.

Omori nodded and just made the motion to follow him. They did only to find wilted flowers in Basil’s garden. “Oh! You wanted to water the flowers!” Hero realized as Omori picked up a watering can.

“Aye! I’ll help you water them!” Kel smiled as he ran forward and picked up another can and began pouring. Aubrey and Hero joined in as well, making sure to water only the flowers that needed to be watered.

Hero actually felt at peace while watering the plants. It was a calm before the storm moment for him, well, more like flowers before walking into his worst fear.

He had a feeling he was absolutely going to hate the forest with every inch in his body. Who knows, it might not be that bad.

~~~~~~

He was right, it was terrible. 

The place was really, really, _really_ foggy. Hero felt his spine shiver from just the atmosphere. If he wanted to see his enemies he was going to have to strain his own eyes, which is stupid cause this is a dream. 

They managed to find an empty joke book in the fog which is a shame cause Hero could really use a joke right now. You know how it is though, Hero can’t have anything nice.

There was also a minecart that everyone immediately hopped inside upon seeing.

“Hey! Kel! Move! Your butt is too big!” Aubrey complained.

“Yeah? It ain’t my fault that Hero has long legs!” Kel yelled back.

“...Maybe we should have hopped in one at a time.” Hero muttered. 

Omori on the other hand decided they were fine the way they were and pushed the cart forward. It went slow at first but began picking up speed. Hero would have thought they were in for a quick ride before the cart suddenly stopped and began heading backward.

Eventually, they ended up right where they were before.

Noticing that the minecart wasn’t going to be of use right now they began to walk ahead. They finally encountered their first enemy while doing so.

It was a rabbit, just like the ones in the forest. It seemed harmless and they weren’t even going to fight it. That was until it stood up revealing fuzzy spider legs on their bodies.

“Oh my god, they look adorable,” Aubrey muttered, her love for bunnies showing.

“Look at them! Their little fuzzy legs are adorable!” Kel agreed with Aubrey.

Omori and Hero on the other hand were thinking one thing and one thing only.

**Kill it.**

Omori quickly pulled out his blade and stared at the animal with bloodlust in his eyes. Aubrey and Kel both seemed to notice it a bit too late.

“WAIT DON’T KILL IT!”

Omori was already putting multiple stab wounds into the abomination. Hero felt no sympathy for the beast.

“NOOOOO.” Both animal lovers fell to their knees to mourn their bunny spider friend. Meanwhile, Hero and Omori high fived in mutual respect.

“I get you two hate spiders but did ya really have to do that?” Aubrey yelled. 

Omori and Hero nodded, “I declare a killing spree on their whole race.”

“NO!”

Omori rolled his eyes and put his knife away while Hero sighed, “Fine, we won’t attack the next one we see unless it gets too close.”

“Sounds fair to me.” Kel shrugged.

Aubrey just groaned and shook her head in disappointment. 

They found a matchbox on a mini hill and were satisfied when they saw it worked. They moved back down and found a candle. Omori decided to light it and he immediately regretted it when a hoard of spiders went to it to take it out.

It also got a scream out of Hero which made Kel, who was also a bit scared, laugh.

Omori realized that the spiders were blocking and preventing a spider web from being knocked down. He knew that if he wanted to get through he needed to be quick. 

He made a motion to the others of the plan and they nodded in agreement. Omori lit the candle again and they booked it to the web while the spiders made their way to the light. 

Cutting the web and moving to the left allowed them to find a track they could use to fix the path the minecart takes.

Feeling happy enough with their work they were about to head back out normally until a shadow from above covered them. 

The gang looked up to see a giant spider jump down on top of them. Hero, Aubrey, and Kel all screamed while Omori stared in shock. The spider grabbed all four of them and dropped them on the other side of the web before disappearing.

Hero is glad he went to the bathroom before heading to bed. 

After a while of blinking at nothing, the gang moved forward. They found yet another spider web with a candle near it and everyone groaned, knowing what they had to do. 

Omori lit a candle and the spiders jumped at it, giving the group a chance to break their web. Behind it was another piece of track they could use. 

Another spider came down from the sky and grabbed them, bringing them back to the entrance. 

“ _I hate this place, I hate this place, I hate this place, I hate this-_ ” “We get it, Hero, you hate this place. We hate it too, you are not alone.” Kel sighed.

Aubrey squinted, looking ahead, “Huh, what a neat plant. Should we be screaming Basil’s name while searching or-” the plant suddenly got up and looked at Aubrey with its one eye.

She screamed and Omori immediately ran towards it to stab it. Aubrey ran up to it as well and broke the whole pot.

“Huh, I thought you didn’t want us to kill anything.” Hero laughed at Aubrey’s suffering.

“Shut. Up.” Aubrey growled.

While they spoke Omori put one of the tracks back on the ground right where it belonged.

“Nice job Omori!” Mari’s voice rang out as everyone realized she was in the next room over. She still had her picnic basket by her side with some tofu. Not the greatest food but certainly not the worst.

“Hello, Mari!” Hero waved, then immediately cried inside. God, why does this one remind him so much like her? Almost as if she was the real deal.

Omori moved forward, putting another track in the ground after waving hello to his sister. 

“Hard at work, I see! How has it been?” Mari asked.

“Omori killed a rabbit spider that I and Kel liked and then a plant startled us,” Aubrey explained.

“You forgot the huge spider that came from the sky!” Kel added.

“I wish I could forget.” Hero shivered.

Mari only laughed in the face of his suffering. That’s fair, she would also joke about him screaming when a tiny spider crawled up his arm, so that felt in character for her.

Omori proceeded to find yet another floating mirror. The group walked over to him and gave him warm and supportive smiles. 

Hero doesn’t know why they do this each time Omori looks in the mirror but it just feels right. It was as if he was comforting someone in some way. Hero sometimes wonders who he is comforting. Omori? Aubrey? Kel? Himself? He could never be sure.

They proceeded to walk to the left and found yet another spider web. Or should Hero say spider webs cause there was a lot more than one with spiders this time around? 

Omori lit the candle and instead of one herd of spiders, there were multiple. Hero was terrified but still tried to push through, following Omori as he cut down the spider webs. Omori was able to get the last track right as the spider came down from the sky and grabbed them. Bringing them back to the entrance of the area.

Omori and everyone else walked out of the area and traveled further up the tracks. They found what part of the track was missing and placed down the track in its place. They were about to head back down until they noticed a path heading to the east. 

“Hey, do you think Basil could be down there?” Aubrey asked. 

“There is a chance…” Hero muttered.

“Then what are we waiting for, let's go!” Kel began to walk with a pep in his step.

Omori looked...nervous? Hero wasn’t good at reading his emotions, he never could even read Sunny’s emotion four years ago. He normally had to be explained to Mari what Sunny wanted.

He sighed. Why did he have a bad feeling about this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "̷̨͔̜̼̋ͅW̸̛̟̟̦̹̞̆̏̈́ͅh̴̢͚͊͋̃͌̽̐̚͝ͅý̵̙̈̿̓͠ ̸̛̻̞̯̊̈̄́̿͛ͅd̴̛̖̪̬̦̰͊̓̑͜ǫ̸͗͐̐̊̃͊ ̴̡̠̠̼͚̻̄̕͘͜͝ͅy̴͔̎̄̽̌͂̕͝͝o̵̧͕͍̫̮̙͐̀̓͋͝ͅù̸̡̜̗̼͊̕ ̷̟̈́̕s̷͚̄͑̈̍͋̈́ȩ̵̻̹̪̱̈́͑e̶̡̛͍͚͉͕͒͗̊̀͆́m̴̧̦̯̤͉̂͂̒ ̶̨̩͈̂n̶͖̝̠̖̰̅̊̿e̵͎̥͖̬̞̣̥̊̋r̸̼̠̉̀͘̚͠v̷̮̓̓͐̉͒̊̂͒ơ̶̻̣̼̲͙͍̩̯͊̇̀̉͗͝u̶̙̎̌͊ͅş̵̘̮͈̗͓̖̓̐̔͊̚͝ ̵̬̰̹͙̭̆̊̈̽̒͋́͘d̷̘͎̮̫̭͈͍̫̃̍ŗ̸̽̍̂͘e̸̟͔̻̱͕̹͚̘͆͘ą̶̨̫̄͋m̷̳̈́̽͐̒̌ę̶͍͎̰͔̹̏̀̑̊ͅr̶͓̗̰̬̆̊͒̇̂́̊?̸̨͚̝̺̠̐͗͋̔̉̓̊͘ ̶̳̜͎̠̓̈̿̕T̸̩̂̒͐̿̾̓͜ͅḩ̵̛̺̲͐̐e̴͙͍̟̿̐r̶̨͈͚̳͍͍͓̱͊̏̊̏̕͝͝͝ȇ̴̥͇̻ ̵͙͇̚i̸͇͍͖̬̘̇́͛͊̚s̸̝͗̑̿͋̊̄̕ ̷̪̩̬̹̆͑̌̅͒ņ̴̮̭̿̐́̃̋̑̎͋͜o̸͕̮͓̹̩̲̓̐́́t̸̺͇̅͌̃͗͂ḩ̸̭̗̙͎̖͒͜i̵̲͉͍̔͒̋̚͝n̷̪̺͍̫̔̃͆͌̃͋g̶͕̪̠͙̱̼͊̈́̈́̍̆̚͠ ̴̢̳͖̄̍̊̈t̷̢̫̺̮͍͝ǫ̶̘͍̲͈̦̌̋̒ ̷̧̤̭̦̣͈̮̪̿́͊̊̆͒͑̊b̵̢͓̟͕̗̫̘̲͂̽e̷̲̓̋̐͛͂̀ ̶̟͇̈́͋͛̂̀͘̚ş̷̺͚͍̮̔͊ͅc̴̩͇̭̼͇͈͓̔͜ȃ̷̻͗r̵̨̺̱̦͎̯̘̈ę̷͇̼̻͋̚d̷̢̜̝̪̞̦̝͆͜͝ ̴̤̹̞̻̹͔̅̃́́̀̉̌a̸͇̻̮̭̓̀̍͆̑͒̅̅b̸̢̡̜̦̺̀͜ơ̶̩͕̭͇͒̓̓̂ȕ̵̺͎͚͝ṭ̷̡̹̖͎̮̈́̅͜.̴̢͚̬̥̻̇͛̋͊̓͛̾͠"̴̡̢̲̤̳̮͉̋̎͂̓͌̚͠


	12. P̷̼̩̪̬̽ÿ̵̭ȓ̵̠͖͙̥̍͌͋e̶̖͇̪͗f̷̣̪̲̯͋͊̏̄l̸̩̙̄ỳ̸̧̙̌ ̶̦͖͇͓̚͝F̴͍͙͕̈ͅo̸͖̙͎͗̏͜r̴̯̙̰̾͊͝e̷̩͚̤͋̓̿̑s̶̘̙͈̫̏t̸̙̿ ̷̩́̄P̴̗̻̣̉̍͝t̵̳͛̓̽͠ ̷͙̝̞͈̄͐̆͝2̷̝̔̄ Lost Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I abuse zalgo text and Hero is smart. 10/10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, a two-day strike! I am impressed with myself! 
> 
> Now watch as Hero finds out some plot by himself and have everyone else be stupid. (Except Omori, he is smart as well.)

As they made their way through the trees they noticed an unsupervised spiderweb. Omori didn’t seem to mind it so no one else cared as well. Walking past some more trees they spotted a cat, laying down and resting with its eyes closed. Nearby is a candle but there seemed to be no spiders around.

To Hero, the cat looked like Mewo. It was taking every inch in him not to run forward and pet it.

Aubrey gasped when she noticed the cat. “Yes! Cat!” she began to move towards it before Hero grabbed her. 

“What if it is like the bunnies?” Hero asked.

“Then they would probably have cute little spider legs, nothing bad.” Kel shrugged.

Kel and Aubrey moved forward and Hero felt a sudden pit in his gut. The cat got up and revealed its long legs, having it tower over the group as it ran at them at a speed none of them could comprehend

Well, at least he doesn’t have to worry about the urge to pet the cat. Hero blacked out from shock.

~~~~~~

_Hero? Hero, do you hear me? Hero? Hero, I am sorry I never told you-_

“Hero! Get up! Omori freed us!” Kel yelled at his older brother who slowly got up after passing out.

“I should have listened to you. Sorry.” Aubrey apologized. 

“It’s fine…” Hero sighed, brushing off the leftover webs on him. Gross.

Omori began moving forward again, this time more slowly than before. He slipped past the first spider, lighting the candle. They stuck near the trees and managed to break another web and leave the area with the cat. 

“Phew, that was close,” Kel muttered as they continued forward before Omori put his hand out to stop the others.

They were confused for a bit until they saw another cat sleeping nearby. There was, unfortunately, no way to get by it without getting close. Omori ran past, striking the match against the candle as the others followed behind. 

They broke through another web and ran forward, hearing the slowed-down footsteps of the cat spiders from behind them. Guess that is what the candles do.

A third cat spider blocked the path and Hero began to wonder how many of them there were.

More webs, more cats, more candles. How fun this was becoming. That was until Omori broke a web and they all saw the shadow monster again. It looked at them and suddenly disappeared. It stood over a stump.

**WHERE THE TREE ONCE WAS**

Hero felt like something wrapped around his neck and he slapped it, revealing itself only as a tiny spider. He quickly flicked it in Kel’s direction.

Speaking of Kel, Hero looked over to Kel’s face to see he had gone pale.

“Kel, are you alright?” Hero asked, mildly concerned.

“H-huh? Oh, yeah I am good. Just wasn’t expecting that.” Kel whispered the last part under his breath. 

Now the group could go up if it wasn’t for Omori spotting a foggy path to the right of the stump, not that it wasn’t even foggy where they were now but the fog felt heavier there.

He and the others began walking down the path when sudden spiderwebs appeared in their way, almost like a warning sign to head back. Omori didn’t listen as he cut down the webs anyway, not allowing anything into his way.

At the top there was-

 **“BASIL!”** Everyone minus Omori yelled at the same time.

The shadow Basil turned around and looked at them before walking into the trees, a smile on its face as it blended with the shadows.

Kel ran forward before Hero grabbed him from behind, “Kel! Wait!”

“But it is Basil, is it not?” Kel yelled.

“Yeah, the shadow one!” Hero argued.

“So?”

“Don’t you remember last time?” Hero asked, remembering the noose on the ceiling.

Kel paused and bit his lip, looking for the memory of what Hero was talking about. He finally caught on to what Hero was saying, “Oh yeah, last time he led us to that photo and-” Kel shivered when he remembered the shadow being chasing them.

Aubrey turned to look at them before sighing, “What if this is important though?” she asked with curiosity.

“...Fine, but the moment something feels off we are heading back immediately.” Hero reluctantly accepted.

He turned to look at Omori who seemed to be a bit shocked by something. He was looking at the others strangely with confusion before his face went back to normal. Hero wondered what that was about. Hopefully nothing-

_“Ṫ̷̜̟̺͑͂̀̈̚͝ͅH̵̳̤̖̱̱̏̀̏̋̐͋̈̄͜Ȇ̸̡̖͍̪̺̪̚Y̶͍̺̰̯̯͋̀̋ ̵͈̙̣͎͍͚̗͚̤̅͜A̷̢̝̳̥͍͍̿̆̏͛͘R̵̯̭̞͇̪͔͍͇̜͎͂͆̍̕E̶̛̙͚̣̒̄̉̆̈́̃̂͝N̸͇̳̖̬̮̜̦͖̠̜͋̆͌̅́͛̋͋'̶̥͇͋̃͌̀̎̎͊̕̕Ţ̶̡̨̢̘͓̹̙̩̒͌̾̓̐͘͝ ̸̧̛̜̭͙̗̯͓̟͑̔̏̈́͝Ṁ̸̤̳̤͕̻̱̜͎̠̆̾̋̔͛̀ͅE̵̛̤̜̹̺̯͑̔̀͗̕͘͘Ą̴̉N̷̨̢̦͊̀̒͋̿̇̾͂͝ͅT̷̻̤́̌̈͑̓͘͝ͅ ̷̡̧̥͂̏͆ͅT̴̢̡̞͉̺͗̒̇̀͑̉̈̇̎Ô̶̧͚̫̺̼̲̈̈́͂̍͂͊̽͝ ̷͍̖͕̫̪̈̌̊̈R̷̡̦͍͇̦͙̞̻̞͒̓̀̓͂E̵͈̬͑͆M̵̹̾̒͑͝E̵̡͈͙͚̳̫̝͈͐̎͂͒̈́̉͝M̶͎̖͚̽̏͗B̷̢̺̰̯̻̜͚͇͊̇͌͑̋͊̒Ḙ̸̢̼̜̮̭͊̅̈̓͋̓̔͜͝R̶̡̡̝̬̊̒̈̏͜.”_

Hero felt a sudden sharp pain go through his head but it left as soon as it arrived. Hero only could hope that it was because of the fog and nothing else.

Kel began first, slowly making his way through the bushes of the trees. Aubrey, Hero, and Omori were following closely behind. The area around them got darker as they walked onto another path that was hidden by the trees.

Ahead of them was the tallest man Hero had ever seen before in his life. He was holding a lantern and his head was smaller than his body. He wore a hat as well, weirdly enough though it looked like it was a part of his head.

They stepped forward and the man, despite having no eyes, looked through them as if they weren’t even here.

“W̸e̷l̷c̵o̴m̵e̷ ̷t̷o̴ ̸t̸h̸e̸ ̶L̸o̵s̸t̷ ̶F̶o̴r̸e̸s̴t̶,̴ ̸w̶h̴e̵r̷e̸ ̷y̵o̶u̷ ̵f̶i̶n̷d̸ ̴t̵h̶i̶n̷g̴s̵ ̵y̶o̸u̴ ̸n̸e̶v̵e̵r̶ ̵k̴n̵e̴w̶ ̷w̵e̵r̴e̶ ̷l̶o̸s̴t̵ ̵i̴n̸ ̸t̴h̷e̴ ̸f̵i̸r̵s̶t̷ ̶p̴l̷a̴c̸e̵.̵.̶.̸o̶r̵ ̶p̶e̸r̴h̵a̶p̸s̶ ̴t̴h̸e̵y̶ ̶w̴e̷r̴e̶ ̴f̵o̷r̵g̴o̶t̴t̷e̸n̶ ̵f̵o̸r̶ ̸a̵ ̵r̵e̴a̶s̶o̸n̴.̶”

The man’s voice felt static-like but they were able to somehow understand what he was saying. Hero felt like he wasn’t meant to understand however, he felt like he shouldn’t know what the man was saying. Judging by the way Kel and Aubrey looked, they felt the same way.

“...Do you think Basil could be here,” Kel whispered to Hero.

“It is a possibility.” He muttered back.

There were multiple paths for the group to choose from. Omori walked towards a group of trees and motioned for the others to follow him. They walked through the trees and the next thing they knew they were standing next to the man again. 

They tried heading to the right but that caused them to loop once again.

“What the heck!” Kel yelled in frustration.

“L̴o̶s̷t̷?̵” The man spoke, sounding like a tease.

“Aw, shut up dude!” Kel stuck out his tongue.

“H̵m̴,̸ ̷n̸o̶ ̵m̷a̴n̴n̴e̷r̵s̸.̷” It simply stood straight and looked ahead.

Getting angry Omori walked upwards and took the top right trail with the others following behind. To their shock, the group didn’t loop and met face to face with the man again.

“I̴ ̷s̵u̶p̶p̸o̴s̷e̷ ̴w̴e̸ ̵a̷l̷l̸ ̸h̵o̷l̷d̶ ̶s̷e̵c̵r̷e̵t̵s̵.̷.̴.̶ ̵N̸o̴ ̵m̸a̵t̴t̸e̶r̵ ̴h̸o̸w̶ ̵l̷o̸s̶t̷ ̷o̷r̷ ̶h̴o̸w̸ ̵d̷e̷e̷p̵ ̸w̶e̸ ̸b̷u̸r̸y̴ ̶t̷h̸e̴m̸ ̵d̸o̴w̴n̸,̸ ̷t̷h̷e̵y̵ ̴a̸l̵w̶a̵y̷s̴ ̶m̴a̷n̵a̴g̶e̷ ̶t̶o̶ ̶f̴i̷n̶d̵ ̷t̶h̶e̷i̸r̶ ̷w̸a̵y̶ ̴t̶o̴ ̴t̵h̶e̸ ̶o̵t̴h̵e̵r̴ ̷s̴i̵d̵e̸.̴” The man sighed. 

Hero pondered that for a bit. Do all secrets get revealed eventually? Maybe some but there is still knowledge from people 100 years from now that could have brought their thoughts and feelings to their grave. Will those emotions ever be found out? Hero will never know.

Omori moved forward noticing a bunny on the path. The bunny looked more like a shadow, just like the man they were speaking to. The bunny turned around to reveal its red glowing eyes before hopping to the left. The others followed it and made their way down the path. 

It led them into another area with the man staring through them once again, “W̶e̵ ̸u̴s̷u̸a̸l̷l̵y̶ ̴t̴e̵n̵d̵ ̴t̶o̶ ̴t̷h̶e̷ ̵t̵h̶i̷n̷g̸s̶ ̴w̷e̸ ̸w̴a̶n̴t̶.̶.̷.̷a̷s̸ ̵o̷p̴p̷o̴s̸e̷d̶ ̴t̵o̶ ̴t̷h̵i̶n̵g̶s̷ ̸w̴e̸ ̴s̸a̶y̷ ̵o̸r̸ ̴d̶o̷.̵ ̸I̶ ̵h̵a̴v̶e̸ ̷n̶e̶v̴e̵r̵ ̷b̷e̷e̸n̷ ̸o̶n̸e̴ ̶f̶o̴r̵ ̷w̴a̵n̶t̴s̸.̵ ̵I̵ ̷a̶m̶ ̸m̶o̶r̸e̶ ̵o̶f̶ ̸a̸ ̸n̵e̵e̸d̵y̷ ̵p̵e̸r̷s̶o̵n̶.̸ ̴I̶ ̴s̵u̶g̶g̴e̷s̶t̶ ̴y̴o̴u̸ ̵s̷t̶a̵r̴t̴ ̵t̶o̸ ̵h̵u̷r̸r̴y̶ ̸y̵o̶u̶n̷g̴ ̵o̷n̸e̷s̷ ̵b̶e̷f̵o̴r̴e̶ ̵y̸o̵u̶r̷ ̵n̷e̶e̴d̷s̸ ̶b̶e̸c̵o̶m̵e̷ ̴m̶o̷r̵e̶ ̴a̸p̶p̴a̴r̵e̶n̵t̴.̴” he ominously warned. 

Hero didn’t know what the man meant. What does he mean by needs? What does he need? 

“I̴ ̶a̷m̵ ̵g̷o̵i̸n̷g̵ ̵t̴o̷ ̷w̷a̴r̷n̸ ̷y̶o̸u̴ ̷n̸o̴w̴.̴ ̵T̸h̷i̶s̵ ̸j̶o̶u̷r̴n̴e̸y̴ ̵w̴i̵l̶l̸ ̷t̷a̵k̷e̸ ̷i̸t̶s̷ ̶t̸o̵l̵l̷.̵ ̵I̷f̴ ̴y̵o̵u̸ ̴w̶i̶s̵h̴ ̵I̶ ̶c̴o̷u̶l̴d̸ ̸t̶a̸k̸e̴ ̷y̷o̶u̸ ̶o̶u̶t̸ ̵o̴f̶ ̴t̷h̴i̷s̴ ̷f̵o̶r̸e̴s̶t̵ ̴i̷f̵ ̶y̵o̶u̷ ̵d̵e̵s̵i̷r̴e̸.̶” The man gave another warning. 

Hero could leave if he wanted to? Just like that? No, not out of the dream but at least out of the forest. However…

“Sorry, I would have to decline.” Hero shook his head. He wasn’t going to leave the others here.

“I agree! I can handle it!” Kel nodded.

Aubrey sighed, “Same here.”

Omori only gave a tight nod. 

The man nodded as the gang continued to follow the bunny. Entering another room the man is spotted again, though he didn’t speak. Only watched as they went to the other bunny and followed that one. 

They were led into a room with a pond to their side. On a dock sat a shiny ball that glowed slightly through the fog. Further ahead was the man yet again. They picked up the ball realizing it was a pearl and pocketed it for later. 

“I̶ ̸c̶a̶n̷'̵t̴ ̶b̵e̶l̵i̵e̸v̴e̷ ̸y̸o̷u̵ ̵a̸r̵e̴ ̶s̵t̸i̷l̸l̴ ̷h̶e̸r̴e̷.̷ ̶Y̸o̸u̴ k̸i̶d̶s̴ ̸m̴u̵s̶t̷ ̶h̵a̸v̵e̴ ̴g̴i̷v̸e̸n̶ ̶u̵p̷ ̴c̵o̷m̴p̵l̴e̷t̶e̶l̵y̵ ̸o̴r̵ ̶y̵o̴u̸ ̸e̸m̸b̵r̸a̷c̸e̴d̵ ̷f̷a̶t̴e̵.̶ ̸A̸ ̵c̴o̴n̵f̸e̷s̸s̶i̸o̸n̵,̷ ̴m̶a̷y̶b̵e̴,̴ ̴b̷u̵t̶ ̴w̵h̵o̸ ̵a̷m̵ ̶I̶ ̶t̷o̸ ̴t̴e̴l̶l̶?̸ ̶” The man laughed at the group.

A confession? From who? The more this man talked the more confused Hero got, it was like instead of talking to one of them he was only talking to one. Who though? 

...It could be Omori, he makes the most sense. After all, he isn’t real like Hero, Aubrey, and Kel. In fact, he barely speaks. Then again, he is like a clone of Sunny...what if he is Sunny? It wasn’t initially out of the question but it feels wrong to assume that. Who knows, he might get more answers in Faraway.

“Y̸o̸u̴ ̶k̵n̷o̷w̵,̶ ̴t̸h̷e̶r̴e̵ ̶w̷a̶s̶ ̴a̵ ̶b̵o̶y̵ ̵w̵a̴n̶d̸e̵r̷i̶n̴g̷ ̶a̸r̵o̷u̵n̶d̴ ̵h̸e̶r̸e̷ ̷b̵e̸f̸o̷r̶e̷.̴ ̶H̶e̷ ̶e̷n̸t̴e̸r̸e̶d̸ ̸t̸h̴e̵ ̷d̸a̵r̷k̵n̵e̶s̸s̴ ̴a̶n̸d̸ ̶n̵e̴v̴e̷r̵ ̸c̵a̸m̶e̶ ̷o̸u̵t̷.̴ ̸H̵o̷w̸ ̴s̴a̴d̴d̶e̵n̴i̶n̸g̶ ̶h̵e̶ ̵n̷e̶v̵e̶r̶ ̶f̴o̶u̶n̶d̵ ̸w̷h̸a̵t̸ ̶h̷e̵ ̶w̷a̸s̸ ̵l̶o̷o̸k̴i̷n̴g̷ ̷f̶o̷r̴.̴” The man sighed in disappointment.

Kel seemed to have shot up at this, “Do you think that could have been Basil?” he asked.

“Perhaps, sir, can you tell us what that boy looks like?” Hero asked the man.

The man laughed, “I̶ ̵c̸a̵n̴ ̴n̷o̶t̷ ̸d̶e̸s̷c̸r̶i̴b̷e̵ ̶h̷i̶m̵.̵ ̵I̵t̷ ̶w̴o̵u̸l̴d̵ ̴r̵u̵i̴n̸ ̷t̶h̴e̷ ̴g̷a̷m̴e̵ ̷t̸h̸e̵ ̸m̷a̸s̶t̷e̵r̵ ̵o̷f̵ ̶t̶h̶i̸s̶ ̴w̵o̶r̷l̴d̷ ̸b̴e̸g̶a̶n̷.̴ ̵F̸i̶n̵d̸ ̷t̴h̵e̶ ̵s̷t̵o̴r̵y̷ ̸f̶o̵r̸ ̷y̴o̴u̷r̷s̶e̶l̵v̴e̸s̵,̷ ̶t̸h̵a̷t̴ ̸i̶s̵ ̷y̷o̵u̶r̵ ̴m̴i̶s̷s̴i̸o̶n̶.̶” 

The group groaned as Hero latched on to some of the words. Master of this world? Hero never considered the fact that if this was a shared dream between him, Aubrey, and Kel that one of them might be the owner of this world. This doesn’t seem like anything their brains would come up with though...he needs more clues.

They followed the bunny yet again and found the man yet again. 

“I̴ ̷h̸a̷v̷e̷ ̶s̸e̵e̷n̸ ̵l̸o̴s̷t̵ ̶a̴n̸d̷ ̵I̸ ̵h̵a̴v̸e̷ ̸s̴e̶e̸n̷ ̶b̷l̸i̷n̸d̴,̶ ̷b̵u̷t̴ ̵t̸h̴e̸ ̵c̵o̷m̷b̶i̶n̷a̶t̸i̷o̴n̴ ̸i̵s̷ ̸u̵n̵s̶e̷t̵t̶l̴i̵n̵g̴.̵ ̶P̵e̶r̴h̸a̵p̶s̷ ̷y̴o̴u̶ ̷w̷e̷r̷e̶ ̵h̶i̴d̸i̸n̸g̴ ̷f̸r̵o̷m̶ ̸t̷h̷e̸ ̸r̷i̶g̷h̶t̶ ̵w̸a̷y̸?̶”

...Yeah Hero had no idea what that sentence meant. As he said before it doesn’t feel like the messages the man spoke were for him. They were for someone else completely.

Another area another cryptic message from the man who was following them, “M̴o̴r̷a̷l̶s̶ ̴a̷r̴e̷ ̸l̸o̴s̶t̶ ̵o̵n̸ ̸t̶h̴e̸ ̶w̴i̴c̷k̷e̴d̸.̷ ̶H̵o̵w̵ ̵d̶o̴e̴s̴ ̸o̷n̵e̷ ̸d̶e̶f̵i̶n̷e̸ ̴m̵a̴l̴i̵c̵e̷ ̴w̶i̷t̷h̷o̴u̴t̸ ̷i̶n̴t̶e̶n̵t̷?̴ ̴W̷h̶y̷ ̵d̷o̴ ̵y̶o̷u̴ ̷c̶o̶n̶t̵i̸n̵u̴e̵ ̵t̶h̸e̴ ̶p̸a̸t̸h̶ ̶w̶h̸e̵n̷ ̵i̸t̷ ̴i̸s̵ ̵t̶h̸e̴ ̷w̴r̵o̷n̵g̵ ̷o̴n̵e̶?̵”

Why the mortality question? Hero felt like that definitely was directly related to something, almost like he was hinting to someone doing an awful deed, but who? Hero looked at everyone to read their faces. Kel and Aubrey looked just as confused as him but Omori...Omori was looking away from everyone and was faced towards the rabbit.

...Did Omori do something? What did he do? It can’t be that bad...right?

Omori began upwards, finally going in a different direction of the bunny to the confusion of everyone. They followed him still, Hero more cautiously than the others. 

The area they walked into had a simple fireplace with no fire inside, the man standing directly behind it.

“Y̵o̴u̸ ̸h̵a̵v̷e̸ ̵r̵e̶a̴c̶h̴e̴d̵ ̷t̶h̶e̷ ̵e̵n̸d̵ ̶o̷f̴ ̷t̵h̷e̷ ̴L̶o̸s̵t̶ ̶F̷o̴r̵e̸s̴t̸.̵.̴.̸b̴u̵t̸ ̶t̴h̴e̷ ̶b̷e̵g̸i̶n̷n̷i̴n̸g̴ ̸o̷f̵ ̶t̴h̵e̵ ̶t̸r̵u̶t̷h̷.̶” The man spoke with a sigh, “I̶ ̸w̷i̴l̶l̵ ̷t̸e̸l̸l̷ ̴y̴o̶u̶ ̵a̵ ̴s̶t̴o̵r̴y̶ ̷t̴h̴a̷t̷ ̵h̶a̶s̵ ̵b̸e̸e̷n̶ ̴l̸o̶s̵t̶ ̴t̷h̵r̵o̴u̵g̴h̸ ̴t̵i̶m̸e̶,̷ ̷t̷h̴e̶ ̷s̴t̶o̴r̸y̷ ̷o̵f̶ ̷h̴o̵w̷ ̷t̸h̶i̶s̸ ̴r̸e̵a̷l̸i̸t̶y̵ ̶w̴a̷s̵ ̷b̵o̸r̸n̷.̵”

Hero felt his heart stop. He had so many questions fly across his mind but bit his lip. He wanted to listen to the man first.

“I̷n̷ ̷t̷h̶e̵ ̷b̷e̷g̸i̶n̷n̵i̶n̶g̵,̸ ̵t̵h̶e̷r̷e̵ ̴w̵e̷r̵e̵ ̸o̸n̶l̸y̴ ̶t̷w̷o̴,̷ ̴t̶h̷e̶ ̶d̵r̸e̸a̵m̵e̵r̴ ̸a̵n̴d̴ ̶h̴i̸s̴ ̷r̸o̴o̵m̷.̴” The man began, “T̷h̴e̷ ̴d̵r̶e̶a̵m̷e̴r̷ ̶g̶r̷e̶w̶ ̷b̴o̵r̵e̷d̵ ̴o̶f̴ ̷t̵h̸e̴ ̸r̷o̵o̷m̷ ̵a̸n̷d̶ ̸c̷r̶e̴a̵t̴e̵d̴ ̶a̶ ̵d̶o̵o̸r̷ ̶t̷h̵a̵t̸ ̵w̸o̷u̸l̷d̷ ̷l̶e̷a̵d̷ ̴t̵o̶ ̵d̷i̷f̴f̸e̷r̵e̶n̵t̵ ̴w̵o̵r̸l̶d̶s̵.̸”

“A̷s̴ ̵a̶ ̴v̷i̴s̷i̸t̶o̸r̷ ̵t̴o̶ ̴t̴h̶e̵s̸e̵ ̵w̷o̶r̶l̵d̵s̶,̵ ̶t̸h̴e̶ ̶d̸r̴e̶a̵m̷e̸r̶ ̵w̸o̵u̶l̵d̷ ̷l̴e̷a̶v̵e̴ ̸a̶n̶d̸ ̴c̴o̶m̵e̴ ̷a̷s̴ ̵p̸l̶e̶a̵s̵e̷d̴.̸ H̶e̸ ̷c̵l̴u̶m̴s̶i̶l̵y̸ ̸e̵x̸p̵l̶o̶r̸e̴d̴ ̴e̶a̸c̵h̶ ̷w̷o̸r̵l̷d̴ ̴u̸n̸t̸i̶l̷ ̷h̶e̷ ̴t̵u̷m̷b̵l̸e̷d̴ ̵h̵i̷s̴ ̵w̶a̴y̸ ̵i̸n̷t̵o̶ ̵a̴ ̴c̷e̴r̴t̸a̵i̵n̸ ̸o̶n̵e̵.̸ T̴h̶a̶t̵ ̵w̸o̵r̶l̵d̵ ̶w̴a̸s̵ ̷c̶h̸a̵o̶s̸ ̵a̸n̵d̶ ̶i̸t̶ ̸b̷a̶t̶h̸e̵d̴ ̶i̴n̷ ̸d̸a̴r̶k̸n̶e̴s̴s̵ ̵f̸i̷l̶l̵i̵n̶g̸ ̴t̶h̴e̸ ̸d̸r̷e̸a̵m̴e̵r̶ ̷w̸i̵t̶h̴ ̴d̸r̴e̴a̶d̷.̶” The man explained.

Hero wondered who this dreamer was. It had to be one of them right? Or was it someone else who is hiding away, keeping themselves unknown? Hero wished he knew it would be faster than all this cryptic nonsense.

“Q̴u̶i̷e̸t̴l̵y̵ ̴w̶o̷r̷d̶s̸ ̶o̶f̵ ̸m̴a̶l̶i̴c̵e̴ ̶c̶r̶e̶p̵t̷ ̶i̶n̴t̴o̴ ̷h̸i̸s̷ ̵m̴i̷n̸d̵.̵ ̸W̵h̴i̷s̸p̷e̶r̷i̶n̸g̵ ̸l̸i̴e̷s̵,̴ ̵s̷e̴c̶r̴e̵t̸s̷,̸ ̶a̴n̶d̵ ̶t̴r̵u̴t̸h̵s̶.̵ ̷P̴o̶w̸e̴r̷l̷e̴s̵s̶ ̸t̸o̶ ̶s̶t̷o̶p̶ ̸t̶h̴e̵ ̵n̶o̷i̸s̸e̴ ̷t̴h̴e̸ ̷d̸r̷e̶a̷m̷e̵r̴ ̵s̶u̵m̷m̴o̵n̸e̶d̴ ̶b̷e̴n̷e̸v̵o̷l̶e̶n̴t̴ ̷e̵n̸t̴i̸t̴i̸e̵s̴ ̶i̸n̷ ̶h̶i̶s̷ ̶w̵o̴r̶l̵d̴s̶.̵ ̵T̶h̶e̴n̷ ̴h̵e̶ ̵u̵s̷e̶d̵ ̷t̶h̸e̸ ̶w̸o̷r̴l̶d̵s̵ ̵t̸o̶ ̴c̶o̶v̷e̸r̴ ̸u̸p̶ ̵t̵h̵e̵ ̶d̵a̷r̸k̸n̸e̴s̴s̶.̷” The man continued.

He summoned worlds to cover up the darkness? Hero silently remembered the map Omori had and how many different and clashing areas there are. He wondered if the dark realm could be right below him right now…

“D̸e̸s̴p̵i̸t̶e̷ ̸h̷i̶s̷ ̷e̸f̷f̴o̸r̶t̴s̸,̷ ̵t̷h̸e̸ ̸d̵a̷r̴k̵n̴e̷s̸s̷'̷s̵ ̴p̵r̵e̷s̶e̷n̸c̸e̸ ̸n̴e̸v̵e̴r̴ ̴l̷e̶f̶t̶.̸ ̸E̶v̸e̵n̶ ̶w̸i̴t̵h̶ ̷h̵i̷s̷ ̵a̴l̴l̶i̶e̵s̸,̷ ̸t̴h̵e̵ ̴d̷a̸r̵k̴n̸e̸s̵s̴ ̶c̴o̴n̷t̶i̴n̴u̸e̷d̷ ̵t̸o̷ ̴s̵c̴r̷a̷t̵c̶h̴ ̵a̸t̵ ̶t̵h̸e̴ ̵b̷a̶c̴k̵ ̴o̵f̵ ̵t̵h̶e̴ ̶d̸r̶e̴a̴m̷e̵r̴'̸s̷ ̴m̶i̴n̶d̷.̵” The man sighed, “N̷o̴ ̴m̷a̸t̴t̵e̶r̶ ̸h̶o̶w̸ ̷l̷o̷n̸g̴ ̴t̵h̶e̸ ̴d̶r̸e̷a̴m̶e̵r̴ ̶r̴u̶n̸s̴ ̸h̵e̴ ̸n̷e̷e̶d̶s̴ ̶t̵o̷ ̶f̶a̸c̴e̴ ̵h̴i̶s̸ ̴o̶w̵n̶ ̷r̶e̶f̸l̷e̸c̶t̸i̶o̸n̷.̸ ̴W̴h̶a̷t̶ ̶t̵h̸e̸ ̸d̶r̷e̴a̸m̶e̵r̶ ̴m̸a̵d̶e̶ ̵i̵s̵ ̷s̵o̷m̷e̷t̴h̵i̷n̶g̶ ̶h̸e̸ ̴c̶a̸n̶ ̶n̴o̵t̴ ̵j̴o̷i̷n̶.̵ ̴T̵h̴e̷ ̷a̴b̵s̶e̶n̶c̴e̸ ̵o̸f̷ ̴t̵h̷i̴s̷ ̷k̵n̵o̸w̵l̵e̷d̵g̷e̸ ̴i̸s̶ ̴h̶i̷s̸ ̴g̶r̸e̴a̶t̵e̴s̶t̶ ̴g̸i̴f̴t̴.̵”

Does...does the dreamer even know they are the dreamer? Judging by what the man is saying all Hero can put together is that he is the reason why he, Kel, and Aubrey are having the same dream...right? He can also put together that the dreamer can’t be Aubrey because he is a male. At least that is one person down. 

“T̷o̵ ̴t̴r̵u̷l̵y̸ ̸e̵s̴c̴a̸p̶e̸ ̸t̸h̷e̸ ̵p̵e̴r̴i̷l̵s̶ ̶o̷f̵ ̴h̵i̵s̸ ̴o̴w̷n̶ ̷f̴a̷c̴u̵l̴t̶y̸ ̷a̴n̴d̵ ̷a̷s̶c̵e̵n̴d̶ ̷t̴o̶ ̶a̵ ̸b̴l̶i̴s̵s̷f̸u̴l̷ ̴s̵t̷a̶t̷e̴ ̸o̴f̷ ̷i̶g̵n̷o̵r̸a̸n̷c̷e̷,̴ ̵o̴n̶l̷y̵ ̵t̸h̵e̵n̵ ̷w̷o̵u̸l̶d̷ ̶t̴h̴e̷ ̵n̷o̸i̵s̷e̸ ̵b̴e̶ ̷s̴i̶l̶e̶n̸c̷e̶d̴.̸ ̵S̵o̷ ̸t̵h̶e̶ ̶d̶r̷e̶a̶m̴e̶r̶ ̸c̸h̵a̶n̴g̶e̷d̷ ̵h̷i̷s̸ ̶n̶a̷m̵e̵ ̸a̴n̷d̴ ̷c̶h̷o̴s̸e̷ ̷t̸o̵ ̴f̸o̶r̶g̴e̸t̴ ̴h̵i̴m̸s̷e̷l̸f̵.̴ ̸” 

...Hero looked towards Omori. Omori ignored his stare.

“F̸r̸o̷m̵ ̴t̵h̷a̵t̷ ̷t̴i̵m̶e̵ ̵o̸n̶ ̵t̴h̶e̷ ̶d̶r̵e̴a̴m̷e̸r̸ ̴h̴a̴d̶ ̴l̵i̸v̴e̸d̴ ̵a̷m̸o̴n̸g̷s̴t̷ ̴u̵s̷,̵ ̶t̷r̴a̸v̶e̸l̸i̵n̶g̷ ̷i̸n̷ ̵b̸l̴i̸s̸s̵.̷ ̵T̷a̴k̷e̷ ̵t̶h̷i̸s̴ ̶a̸s̷ ̴a̷ ̶w̶a̶r̴n̷i̷n̷g̴,̷ ̶s̴o̴m̶e̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ ̵w̸i̵l̵l̷ ̴c̶o̴m̶e̷ ̶a̸n̶d̵ ̶t̴h̴r̶e̶a̴t̸e̴n̴ ̶t̸h̴i̴s̵ ̴w̴o̵r̵l̶d̷.̶ ̷T̷h̴e̸ ̸e̷n̴d̶ ̶f̶o̷r̶ ̶t̴h̷i̷s̷ ̷o̶n̵e̴ ̸i̴s̴ ̵n̵e̷a̴r̷,̴ ̷I̸ ̸c̸a̵n̵ ̸f̵e̶e̸l̵ ̵i̸t̴.̵ ̷N̷o̸ ̵b̷a̸n̶d̸a̵g̸e̵ ̵c̸a̷n̷ ̵h̴e̸a̸l̶ ̷a̷ ̴w̶o̸u̸n̵d̷ ̴t̷h̸a̷t̷ ̵k̴e̸e̸p̷s̵ ̴d̵i̴g̸g̷i̵n̴g̸ ̵i̵t̶s̷e̷l̶f̴ ̴d̴e̸e̵p̸e̴r̶ ̶i̵n̶t̵o̶ ̵o̷n̵e̸'̷s̶ ̴s̶k̷i̷n̶.̷ E̷v̸e̸n̷ ̵i̷f̸ ̷t̴h̵e̵ ̵d̸r̷e̷a̷m̷e̶r̴ ̵f̷o̶r̵g̵o̶t̸,̴ ̸t̶h̴e̴ ̷p̵r̷o̸b̸l̶e̷m̵ ̷i̴s̷ ̴s̴t̷i̷l̸l̷ ̴p̴r̸e̴s̴e̷n̵t̵.̸ ̴T̸h̶e̶ ̶e̷n̴d̸ ̸i̸s̷ ̴c̶o̵m̷i̵n̴g̴,̴ ̷a̴n̴d̵ ̸t̴h̸e̵ ̸d̵r̴e̶a̷m̶e̶r̵ ̷w̵i̴l̴l̷ ̸s̴e̷t̸ ̸t̸h̸e̵ ̷w̷o̸r̷l̴d̶ ̷f̴r̶e̷e̷.̸ ̴” The man suddenly waved his hand in front of the children and a fire sprung from the fireplace. 

The blue glow lit up the area as the man walked inside it. He didn’t scream or shout but peacefully fade away to become just a memory.

The fire faded away leaving a black blur in its place. Omori walked forward and collected it like he always does. He frowned before sighing, simply looking down at the ground where the fire sprung.

Aubrey, Kel, and Hero approached Omori and placed a hand on his back. Omori nodded and pocketed the blur before moving a bit forward before something else caught his eye.

A long black strain of hair was hanging from one of the trees before abruptly disappearing. 

Hero hoped that wasn’t what he was thinking. He quickly pushed the thought out of his mind and continued forward with the others.

They exited through the trees only to see they were where they began before entering the lost forest.

Hero just wants a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **"T̴͈̟͚̩͋̔̂̿h̵̛̪͘ȩ̷͍̹͆̐͝y̶̪̝̏̈̚ͅ ̴͎̳͚͑ͅŗ̶̳̮̭́͑e̷̹̰͆̉̉͝m̸̡̩̼̜̊e̴̙̒̚m̷̟͊̍͗b̸̧̗͍͐ę̷͉̽́́̚r̴̜̠͕̹̋̒̇̎ ̴̢̣̗̍̒ẅ̴̲́̌h̶̹̞͎͕̽͋̋͝ả̷̧̟͇t̴͕̏͂ ̵͈̥̟̺͛̎͠͠h̶̝͉͆̚̕a̸̭̜͆́̽ͅp̸͍̦̠̏̄͆͊p̶̧̼͑e̴͇̝͑̉͑n̵͔̼̻͚̅͒̀ė̵̖̿̃̏d̶̬̻͉̣̑̉.̶̛̫̮̀̕̕ ̶͍͍͂͆T̴̗͈͓̗͑̊ḥ̷̙̭͒ë̴͍̯͍́͊͂͋y̸̦̾̊ ̴͖͙̈́̐̓̈s̵͜͝h̵͈̳͚̥͆̌͊ǫ̶̯̣͚̇̔ű̵͙̪͇͖͗̚l̷͉̞̬͒̐d̶̛̖̳̣̭̆ṇ̵̛̣̩̋̂̕ͅ'̴̺̦̇̆͊͝t̴̮̀̍ ̷̡̙̎̇̋́k̴̼̬̋͂͒n̴̫̘̈́͜͜ơ̸̼̺̟͑͛ͅw̸̯͉̹̖̋̓̿ ̸̜̟̣̈́̾̈́ǎ̵̹̲̪͕͝ ̶̙̺̾̑t̷̪̯̆h̸̨͖̣̦͂̆į̶̹̞̰͑̑͒͛n̵̦͈͌̌g̴͙̍͆.̵̼̔̉̕ ̵͔͑T̴̯͛͛̽͐h̸͉̖̹͐̍e̵̛̩͎̥͗y̸͉͆͐̈́ ̸̭̜̻͐̈́a̷̻̱͍̐r̸͚̂̿̀ȅ̷͚̓͛̓͜ ̶̣͕̪͛n̵̡̧̛̥͕o̸̞̬͊̋̚̕ţ̴̤̽̍ ̶̩̹̐̃̚f̵̼̻̮̣̈́̾̃͐ŕ̷͖̭̌̕ĩ̵͉̭͓̻͂͘ė̵̖̣͓̿n̶͇̙̉̍̂̓d̸̨̾ṣ̶̡̠͝.̸̨͚̮̲̍̾.̸̠̪͝.̴̬̮̩̚p̴͇̀̋͊̽ë̴̗͍̗́̀r̸͋̓̕ͅh̵͔̼̣̀͋̔ā̴̘̣̲͛͝p̵͇̙̹͝ṡ̶̡̡͙̞̚ ̴̛͕͖̰̈̉f̸̱̺͑̾̇o̴̗͔͖̜̕ę̷̗͕̦̿̒s̷̨̺̞̖͋̒͊̎.̶̜͘"**


	13. Pyrefly Forest Pt3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (To the tune of Escape from the City)
> 
> Crawling around at the speed of sound, eating sprout moles, and killing people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, so I don't know what to type here today so...hi?

The group silently walked back, the man’s words swimming in all of their heads. Hero bit his lip. If his theory was right then Sunny is Omori, making them the dreamer. Hero’s only questions are how did he enter Sunny’s mind? Why did Sunny create this world in his head? Is everyone else aware as well? 

Hero let out a quiet sigh, out of all the things to get wrapped into it had to be his old childhood friend’s weird brain. 

...Okay maybe weird brain was a bit rude, creative would be the right word. 

He honestly hoped Sunny was doing okay in the real world though, cause what the man said about the darkness lurking underneath, might be bad news.

The group made their way up the tracks only for Kel to run into a boulder blocking the way.

“Ouch! Stupid rock, now I am going to get a headache…” Kel grumbled.

“Well, that will teach you to be more careful!” Aubrey scolded.

“Please don’t fight right now. Is there another way?” Hero asked.

Omori did a quick scan around before shaking his head no. Hero groaned to himself and Kel turned towards Aubrey, “Hey, maybe you can break it!”

“...Kel I couldn’t break a block of cheese the last time we were here, what makes you think I can break a boulder?” Aubrey asked.

“Weird logic of this land. Can you at least try? I will give you anything you want if you do!” Kel bargained.

“Ugh, fine.” Aubrey sighed and spun her doll around a couple of times before smashing it into the rock.

Surprising no one, the rock didn’t break.

“Told ya. Now, I want my ten dollars back.” Aubrey grinned.

“What!?” Kel yelled in shock.

“I mean, it isn’t like you used it already...right?” Aubrey tilted her head.

“...” Kel nervously turned away and began whistling. 

“OH COME ON!” Aubrey stomped her feet aggressively before taking a deep breath, “Now you owe me twenty. That is final.”

“What!? Hey, come on! I don’t even know if I have twenty dollars in my house.” Kel grumbled the last part out to himself.

“Gee Kel sounds like a personal problem.” She stuck out her tongue at him.

“What did I just say about fighting?” Hero rubbed his forehead, feeling more exhausted than he already was.

“Sorry, bro…” Kel apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

Omori looked at the group with curiosity for a bit before looking down. He then proceeded to walk back the way they came, making another motion for everyone to follow him. Hero and the others obeyed as they walked back to the minecart at the entrance. 

“Oh! We can use this as a ram!” Kel’s face glowed in excitement. 

“Alright, everybody in one at a-” Everyone already hopped in before Hero could finish speaking. He groaned and hopped in as well, once again becoming cramped by Kel and Aubrey taking up most of the space. Omori pushed the cart a bit forward and the group was off.

Once again it began slow but as they continued it quickened its pace, eventually slamming straight into the bolder and smashing it to bits. Hero was surprised it didn’t knock the group backward. He was even more surprised when he saw a giant castle in the distance.

Passing under some trees and losing sight of the castle, Hero proceeded to look at Omori. Omori just so happened to be looking at him, almost as if he was trying to read Hero’s movements.

It felt unnerving. He hopes to god he is just being paranoid but something tells him that isn’t the case.

The minecart made a sudden stop and everyone proceeded to crawl out.

“Ow...my legs feel cramped…” Kel complained.

“I can’t even feel my legs…” Aubrey muttered.

“I said for everyone to go in the cart one at a time, no one listened.” Hero rolled his eyes as he scolded the duo. 

Omori turned away from the group and walked towards Mari who was conveniently sitting nearby.

“Oh! Hello little brother!” Mari greeted the boy, getting up to hug him. Omori’s face didn’t change but you can tell he was grateful.

She looked towards the rest of the group as well, “Ah! Nice to see everyone is okay! Congrats on making it through the forest!”

“It was nothing!” Kel grinned.

“It was awful, there were rabbits but with spider legs. Absolutely horrifying.” Hero shivered, remembering those bunnies. They were probably going to haunt his mind for the rest of his life.

Omori nodded in agreement with Hero’s words.

“It wasn’t that bad! It was actually really cute, you both are just mean!” Aubrey yelled at the boys.

“I have no regrets helping Omori kill it.” Hero shrugged.

“...I am going to bully you next.” Aubrey threatened.

“Can I join?” Kel asked.

“No.” She declined

“Aw,” Kel pouted, “Why not?”

“Cause I am bullying you as well,” Aubrey rolled her eyes, “Thought that was obvious.”

“Fine. You win this round.” Kel sighed.

“Don’t mean to interrupt the banter, but I think I should warn you of something before you go on ahead.” Everyone was suddenly focused on Mari, “I heard some skittering from up ahead. It sounds really big and could be dangerous. I have some food over here so you guys can rest up before heading over.”

“Sweet! Thanks, Mari!” Kel smiled as he took the food Mari made for them.

“Kel! Share!” Hero yelled as he had to distribute the food amongst the others after taking it from his younger brother’s hands.

“Aw, man…” Kel groaned as he was handed a smaller portion than what he wanted.

“Deal with it Kel.” Hero sat down as he began eating.

“Did you know that there used to be a big library here? Apparently, it was so badly taken care of that it sunk into the ground.” Mari randomly decided to share a fun fact with the group. Perhaps out of boredom.

“Huh, so are you saying I could be standing on a bunch of old books right now?” Kel asked.

“No, it sank somewhere near the castle.” Mari pointed to the castle in question, “It sucks it got built over…”

“Where did you get this info from Mari?” Hero asked, genuinely curious.

“Some shadows here and there, if you focus hard enough you could see them as well! They are so nice!” She answered.

Hero couldn’t tell by the tone of her voice if she was joking or not. Maybe he didn’t want to know.

The gang finished eating and parted ways with Mari, walking up the path that Mari said she heard skittering from. Hero just hoped it wasn’t a giant spider, he would prefer the shadow figures Mari mentioned.

They ran into a sprout mole who seemed out of breath, almost as if it was running from something.

“Hey little dude, are you alright?” Kel asked the creature.

“N-No! There is this terrible beast up ahead! I and my other sprout mole friends were going to see a show and then that _thing_ began attacking us!” It shouted, “H-here! Take my tickets! I don’t even want to go with that beast blocking the path!”

The sprout mole ran away only leaving the group behind with four tickets. Hero doesn’t know why they would even need these but shrugged it off, who knows, he might be able to use them on something later.

The group began to move on, a little bit slower than before though thanks to the warning of a beast. Suddenly corpses of spout moles began to pile up on the side of the trail making poor Hero feel bad for them but also terrified at what could have caused this. They were annoying, sure, but in no way did they deserve this.

The group finally made it to a clearing with a few trees. More bodies laid around as well as the sound of multiple feet moving came from in front of them. Hero listened closely, his whole body going on edge. He could hear whatever it was biting into something with a crunch.

Out of the darkness it spat out another dead sprout mole, almost hitting Omori who luckily dodged out of the way in time. 

The sky grew darker and the beast slid out of the shadows, slowly twisting and turning as if it was mapping out the area in its head. 

Finally, it settled its sights on the group in front of them. It ran forward, quickly turning so they couldn’t escape the way they came before it began to attack.

“HOLY CRAP WHAT IS THAT!?”

Hero couldn’t blame Aubrey for yelling because it was terrifying. W-was it made of dead sprout moles?! That is horrifying! 

Its centipede-like legs moved quickly, trying to find ways to corner everyone so it could easily kill them.

Omori quickly pulled out of his poems and skimmed through them allowing himself to become sad from them. 

Hero charged forward and hit it with his Baking Pan, knocking it right in the jaw. It didn’t seem to like that though as it hissed in pain and anger. 

Before it could do anything to Hero, Kel decided to let out a shout, “Hey, you creepy loser! Get over here!”

The centipede ran forward to Kel who tried his best to run away from it. This fails as it grabs his leg and throws him into a nearby tree.

“OW! YOU SUCK!” Kel groaned in pain as he rubbed his head.

Aubrey decided to use this opportunity to attack it from behind. She smacked it deadset in the middle causing it to yelp in pain. 

Omori’s eyes scanned the area looking for a chance to stab the beast when he noticed a sprout mole walking in on the scene. 

The centipede also happened to notice the mole. Instead of continuing to attack the group sprinted forward and grabbed the poor mole in its mouth. The mole was confused about what was happening, clearly lost on the whole situation.

“Let it go!” Hero shouted as he ran forward and tried to hurt the monster again. The centipede dodged as it bit down on the mole, sucking out its blood(?) and healing itself. 

It dropped the corpse and ran at Hero who tried to block its attack. Omori came over and stabbed it a few times, taking a few sprout moles off its body.

“That’s it! Rip off the sprout moles from its body! That way we can kill it easier! Omori, look out for other sprout moles it might use to heal!” Hero commanded.

Everyone nodded in agreement and began to work. Aubrey and Kel began attacking from the sides while Omori kept watching out for sprout moles, pointing some in the other directions and just simply killing other stubborn ones.

Hero kept the beast distracted by having it chase after him, luckily it likes to follow people with charm. 

“Kel! You keep getting in my way!” Aubrey shouted.

“Yeah? Well, you keep getting in mine!” Kel yelled back.

Both children were enraged and at this point tearing the centipede to bits. Once Omori deemed that there were no more sprout moles nearby he joined in on stabbing the crap out of it. 

“Guys! Let’s attack all at once! One! Two! Three!” Hero yelled as he and the others charged forward. Kel wacking it with his ball a few times as Aubrey pummeled its face. Hero managed to smack it into a tree as Omori was able to stab it right in the heart!

The being hissed but eventually, the light faded from its eyes allowing everyone to know that it was dead. 

Hero sighed before he noticed four sprout mole masks laying on the ground. He doesn’t know why but he feels they may be important later.

“Gee, that was,” Kel huffed, “exhausting…”

“Tell me about it…” Aubrey agreed.

“You know, at least you weren’t the one distracting it every five seconds!” Hero came back at them.

“True…” Kel sighed, “At least it wasn’t a spider! Ain’t I right Hero?”

“Kel, shut up…” Hero groaned.

He secretly agreed though. At least it wasn’t a spider. 

Hopefully, the worst is done and over with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _So you are back here again, in this sweet hell. Welcome home. You belong here B-_


	14. Sprout Mole Village

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They try to watch a show but the power goes out. Absolutely nothing else happens!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! When I give out smiley faces they have the chance of meaning three things!  
> 1\. Ominous   
> 2\. To be funny  
> 3\. I am actually happy  
> Enjoy my smiles :)

He walked through the black space, fear in his heart and tears in his eyes as he looked upon the doors in the area. 

He was here last night. His dream began peacefully with him waking up in a house, a lovely place it was. 

It had flowers that lined the wall and a warm fireplace. His peace was disturbed when he suddenly gained company from his old friends. It had been a while since he had seen any of them. 

However, nothing good lasts forever. He found this out the hard way when he was transported here after trying to tell them the truth. 

Where was he exactly? He didn’t know what to call it other than his own personal Hell. 

It would make sense if that is where he was sent. After all, who could forgive a filthy sinner like him. No matter how much he says he is okay...he truly isn’t. Who could be after what he had done?

At first, he was scared. His head felt itchy as if someone poured lice into it and so he tried to remove the flower crown. The flower crown refused to come off though, no matter how much he tried. Vines appeared around his neck as he tried to pull it off, refusing to grant him freedom from the crown as it made his scalp itch more and more. 

Eventually, the flower crown did come off… **with his head still attached to it.**

That is when he awoke in the room where he is now. A room with a black blanket, only being able to see it with the white outlines surrounding it. There was also a picnic basket and a blank sketchbook. The book reminded him of Sunny and how much he used to draw. Sadly there were no pencils to draw anything on it...

He went through a few doors around the area only to manage to find new ways to die brutally and painfully. He has lost track of the times he lost his limbs to some beast in the shadows or to his friends with distorted faces. His flower crown still itched but he knew better than to tug at it.

**He deserves all of it though. He deserves to be ripped to shreds by his friends. Torn into little pieces of paper and eaten alive by monsters with sharpened teeth. He deserves it for the sin he committed a long time ago. Despite feeling fear in his heart and despite the tears burning his eyes, it truly is what he deserves.**

_**I wonder where this next door leads...let us explore some more s̷̡̢̧̤̥̤͈͙̜̥͈͈̜̽̿̒̀̋̊̈́̽̚ͅi̷̢̯̘̿̽͛̓̋̀̈́̇̀̏͘͘͘̕͝͝͝ͅn̶̲̻̲̙̝̰̯̒̈́͐̍͘͘ͅn̴̖̻̪̺̫̓̂͒͐̂̐̓e̷̛̙̻̩̟̲͈̱̐̈͊̔̽̂̿̈̅̚͜͜ͅr̷̢̝̫͈̬̬̞̤̙̝͍̲̟͎̖͋̌̾̔̓͠.**_

~~~~~~

There was a hole in the ground, just north of King Crawlers' body. It had a ladder sticking out of the ground which allowed the group to enter the underground. 

When they finally reached the bottom they were greeted with Mari, sitting down on her picnic setup as always. Hero wondered why Mari was able to make it around so fast and why she was always on a picnic blanket but decided against asking about it. He could just get answers from Sunny when he goes to Faraway.

“Hey, guys! How did everything go?” Mari asked the group.

“Eh, if you minus the centipede monster then we are good!” Kel grinned.

“I might have a new insect to fear…” Hero shivered at remembering the creature. Without adrenaline fueling him he can now focus on how horrifying the monster was.

“Oh, well that sounds bad...would you like a tomato?” She offered Hero. 

Hero sighed and with a nod began to chow down. This reminded him of the time where he saw a big spider and to take his mind off it Mari invited him to bake cookies with her. Kel and Sunny hung out in the living room watching Spider-Man cartoons and-

Damn it, Hero, stop making yourself sad by remembering the past.

“Why is there so much Sweetheart merch here?” Aubrey suddenly spoke up, looking at the table to their left filled to the brim with accessories all Sweetheart themed. 

Hero silently recalled the fact of SpaceBoy who was dating Sweetheart, that is if he remembered correctly. 

Wasn’t Sweetheart that anime that came on in the morning? He and the others would go to Sunny’s place and watch it with the others. Mari sort of liked the show and she would hum the theme song mindlessly while cooking. 

The thing is that Sunny absolutely despised the show. He never saw that much disgust on his face until they watched it for the first time and Sweetheart showed up on the screen. It was honestly quite funny to watch his neutral face morph into fear whenever he heard the theme song play in the living room.

He wonders if in the four years he watched it to remember her.

There was a sign nearby the merch that read, “Sweetheart Presents, Sweetheart’s Quest For Hearts!”

“Wow, this looks absolutely boring…” Kel muttered.

“Imagine if Basil was in there.” Aubrey jokes.

“Knowing our luck, I have a feeling that he would be.” Hero sighed.

“You know what? My legs are tired, we can take a break and watch the show.” Kel decided.

“Where would we- oh! We got tickets from that sprout mole, remember?” Aubrey pointed out.

“Yeah! We can get in with them no problem-o!” Kel nodded.

“Alright, alright...Omori.” Hero turned to look at the boy in question, “Do you wanna watch the show?”

Omori had a look of shock across his face before it quickly turned back to normal. He looked down and nodded slowly as if he was embarrassed.

“Sweet! Showtime!” Kel laughed.

Hero walked over to the ticket booth and greeted the sprout mole running the stand.

“Ah! Hello, strange-looking sprout moles! Are you here to see the wonderful show Sweethearts Quests for Hearts?” The sprout mole asked, “Cause if so you came to the right place! This sold-out show will start very soon!” 

“Yep, that is what we are here for.” Hero went and pulled the four tickets from his pockets, “Here ya go.”

“Oh? Oh, my! I can’t believe it! These are for the front row!” The sprout mole admired, “You must have made some great sacrifices to be alive today!”

“Tell me about it…” Kel grumbled.

“Forgive me for calling you strange-looking! At another glance, you all look like the most normal and fancy sprout moles I have ever seen!” The sprout mole complimented, “Please, enjoy the show!” 

Hero nodded to the sprout mole and the group proceeded ahead, climbing up another ladder leading them to a castle-like door. 

Inside was the brightest and pinkish room Hero was ever forced to walk into. Sprout moles filled up most of the seats, loudly blabbering about what the show might feature today. Sadly there was no sign of Basil in any of the seats.

The show stage was huge, almost as large as the one in schools that plays and concerts take place on. The first row on the left was empty so Hero and the others quickly settled down in their spots. 

A few moments after the group had sat down the lights had dimmed. Two spotlights turned on and danced across the curtain on the stage before finally disappearing. A sprout mole with green hair came from the left side and moved their way forward to a microphone placed down, almost exactly their height.

“Ladies and gentlemoles! Welcome to a special episode of, SWEETHEART’S QUEST OF HEARTS!”

The crowd began to cheer a bit before settling back down.

“Before the show, however, he would like to introduce to you YE OLD SPROUT!” The mole shouted.

Everyone erupted into cheers as the giant sprout mole opened the curtains to reveal himself. 

“Greetings my children,” he began, “I hope you all have been doing well. Please remember to take good care of yourselves and eat a healthy amount of tofu.”

The crowd began to loudly bang their feet on the ground to mimic clapping noises. Though Omori and friends preferred to clap like normal people.

The curtain shut and the sprout mole smiled, “With that out of the way, let us enjoy the show!”

A giant sign lowered from the ceiling, dashed in bright lights and hearts. Sweetheart’s face of course was right in front of it, also in bright lights.

“Last time on the show our darling Sweetheart had failed to fall in love with one of our charming bachelors! This time we have gained three new contestants!” The sprout mole flashed a grin, “Will any of them be able to catch her heart? Let us reveal them now!”

Another sprout mole walked onto the stage with a dumb grin on its face, “THIS IS CONTESTANT NUMBER ONE! He is a local of Sprout Mole Village and he comes in at three feet tall!”

“Who would want to date someone the size of a baby?” Aubrey whispered under her breath. Hero had to hold back a chuckle at that.

“His favorite food is Tofu and he owns a collection of plastic flamingos! He enjoys walking through narrow tunnels. Clap for contestant number one!” The green-haired sprout mole shouted.

Everyone began to aggressively stomp their feet again and Hero is surprised they didn’t fall through the floor.

Another sprout mole hopped on stage and did a mini twirl around, “Contestant two is also a local from Sprout Mole Village! He is three feet and one inch! His hobbies include walking, running, and crawling! His favorite color combination is brown and green and he likes to roll in the dirty laundry!”

“Ew…” Kel muttered.

“For once you are right Kel. Ew.” Aubrey nodded.

“Guys please be quiet…” Hero groaned. 

“Give it up for number two!” The green hair mole yelled into the crowd.

The crowd began to cheer loudly and aggressively.

“And now, it is time for a switch up!” The green sprout mole announced.

“A switch up?” Aubrey wondered aloud. The next contestant walked on stage. If Hero had to describe them it would be toilet paper with two legs and a face. 

“Contestant number 3 comes from Otherworld! It is like he fell from the sky, quite literally! According to him and us, that means he might be a catch!” The green-haired sprout mole laughed.

A small cheer was shouted out for contestant three but not that many people joined in. Hero could smell the bias in the room for number three. He almost feels bad for the guy.

“And now it is the moment you have all been waiting for! Dim the lights!” The mole shouted. The lights began to dim and a drum roll began to play in the background.

“She emits beauty, she exudes grace, and she truly has the most pulchritudinous face! Yes, you know who we are talking about!” The mole built up, “She is all that amazing and wonderful and she is about to set foot on this stage! Give a big warm welcome to-” 

The sprout mole didn’t get to finish as a sudden strike of thunder hit the stage causing everyone to let out a scream of surprise (minus Omori of course.)

The lights were now off but somehow everyone could still see. The third contestant disintegrated into dust as for he was the one struck by lightning. Ouch. Hero felt bad for him.

“Well, that was anticlimactic…” Aubrey muttered.

“I am just glad we weren’t struck by the lightning.” Hero sighed.

“Yeah, when do you think the moles will turn on the power again? I bet five minutes!” Kel looked over to Aubrey.

“Another bet? Really Kel? Hm...I bet we are going to need to fix this.” Aubrey grinned devilishly.

“Come on, that isn’t going to happen. They know how to fix their own-”

“HELP! WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!”

“HELP! WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO EITHER!” two sprout moles yelled loudly across the stage. They both continued to yell for help repetitively and it doesn’t look like they are going to stop soon.

“...” Kel was dead silent.

“Make my ten a twenty,” Aubrey laughed.

“Hero please lend me some money, I beg you.” Kel pleaded with his brother.

“Stop putting yourself in debt. I will lend you some tomorrow.” Hero groaned.

“Yes! Thank you, Hero!” Kel made a mini fistbump.

Hero turned to look at Omori who was strangely looking away. Omori faced him however once he realized he was being stared at and nodded, slowly getting up from his seat. The others followed him, getting up as well.

It seems it was time to explore Sprout Mole Village, hopefully, nothing bad happens...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Oh come on, didn't you say that you deserved this? Why are you crying so much? Suck it up. Go into the next door._


	15. Sprout Mole Village pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone better go fix the lights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so like, 13,323 hits? Pog.

The group proceeded to walk out of the giant door only for them to realize that it wasn’t just the stage that ran out of power but the whole village. 

The group climbed down the ladder only to spot Mari who was holding a mini flashlight in her hands, “Hey, Hero! Catch!”

Hero quickly put up his hand in time to catch the flashlight. It was small but it could help them find their way around quicker. 

Well, as fast as they could go exploring. This place was huge with sprout moles speaking gibberish on how the power outage was affecting them. Climbing up and down ladders is starting to become Hero’s worst nightmare. His legs felt like they were going to fall off his body any second. Not to mention there was always something weird in each room. Though through all of this he found out one thing.

Sprout moles really like tofu, there is a lot of it laying around. 

In one of the rooms, there was a wire popping out of the ground. Omori stared at the wire as if he was deciding if he wanted to cut it or not. 

“Cut it, cut it, cut it!” Kel chanted like an intrusive thought. Omori looked at him and nodded, agreeing that he should cut it.

“Guys come on we don’t even know if it is connected to the power or-”  
**THUD**

Aubrey was cut off by a sudden thud that rang out as soon as Omori cut the wire. A creature that was below them screamed in pure agony before dying.

“WOO! BOSS FIGHT SKIPPED! UP TOP OMORI!”

Kel and Omori both high-fived each other as Kel laughed.

Hero was just glad that the wire didn’t relate to the power situation at all.

The group began climbing down more ladders until they eventually reached what they assumed to be the lowest floor. The sounds of tapping feet hitting metal as sprout moles ran on multiple treadmills.

“Pick up the pace, boys! We must make haste!” The warden mole shouted at the others.

“We’re trying our best warden!” Another sprout mole shouted.

“Yeah, this is as fast as we can go!” A sprout mole agreed.

“Ugh, I feel sick…” A groan rang out.

“Come on guys, we can do this!” Someone tried to encourage. 

Hero felt bad for the dudes. If this is how they got their power then this must be torture for the ones running.

Omori seemed to care less for the sprout moles and was instead interested in his own reflection. Hero had to wonder why, maybe Omori just liked to see how he looks? Or is there a different reason? Whatever the reason, however, Hero still made his way over to the mirror with the others and stood behind Omori. Hero simply patted his head this time.

Omori seemed to flinch at the touch but then began to lean into it. That was until he abruptly pulled himself away from Hero’s hand and continued forward as if he felt embarrassed for having Hero pet him.

Hero only sighed in response. He should have seen that coming. 

There were four treadmills lined up on the ground with no one running on them. There was also a socket with an unplugged plug laying nearby. 

“Well, I guess we found the problem…” Hero muttered. He jumped up on the platform and tried to pick up the plug to no avail, “Hey Kel, do you think you can help me out?” Hero asked.

“Sure!” Kel jumped up next and with the brother’s combined strength they were able to plug in the lights. 

“What did I say, moles? Hard work pays off!” The warden chuckled, not noticing Hero and Kel awkwardly standing nearby.

Hero and Kel jumped down from the platform and began to walk to the exit. Omori and Kel however paused near the treadmills, both turned to look at the other.

“You have the same idea as me, don’tcha?” Kel asked with a smile.

Omori bit his lip and nodded.

Kel nodded and hopped on one of the treadmills and turned it on, immediately putting it to the fastest speed and running. “This is going to be so efficient for the moles!”

“Kel are you serious right now.” Aubrey groaned as she watched the boy run.

“Oh, come on! You know you wanna join me!” Kel grinned.

Omori carefully walked up to the front treadmill and turned it on. He then made sure it was going at a comfortable pace for him to run at.

“Omori! Not you as well!” Aubrey yelled before sighing.

“...Do you want to join them?” Hero asked.

“...yeah…” Aubrey admitted before running over to a treadmill and hopping on.

Hero walked over as well, deciding to join the treadmill party as he set it to a pace he was good at.

This went on for a while and if Hero had to notice anything it was that the lights definitely were brighter than before. 

“Alright guys, I think we should go now. We might just miss the show-” “I FORGOT ABOUT THE SHOW!” Kel and Aubrey both jumped off and began running to the ladder. Hero let out a tiny sigh before he got off his treadmill. 

Omori got off the treadmill as well and looked at Hero before nodding. He then proceeded to follow Kel and Aubrey. 

He might be going by a different name here, but he definitely acts a lot like Sunny.

Making their way back up multiple ladders the group refound themselves in front of the door to the showroom. They opened the door and walked inside the corridor only to find a panicking sprout mole wearing a top hat. 

“Someone! Please, help me! I need to find a handsome young gentleman!” The mole shouted.

The mole turned around and happened to land its eyes on Hero, “Oh? You sir, in the striped pants!”

Hero had a feeling where this was heading.

“You magnificent beast! Yes! Ohohohoh~ You would do just fine!” The mole approached Hero. 

Hero nervously took a few steps back in response, “Please don’t do this to me…” he whispered to whatever god was out there.

“Please, kind sir! Will you help out this poor, lowly mole?” The mole begged.

“Um, I am so sorry sir but you see I am kind of busy…” Hero muttered.

“Sir, I beg thine! I need someone to do this job!” The mole cried.

“I really can’t though! I am-” “I CAN DO IT!” Kel randomly volunteered. 

“Huh?” Both Hero and the sprout mole shared the same shock.

“Yeah, I mean, cmon, you probably just need some help backstage right? I can help!” Kel offered.

“...You know what, you will do. Follow me please.” The sprout mole nodded.

Kel flashed Hero a thumbs up before following behind the mole. Hero could only feel sorry for his brother. He thinks he is in for a backstage job but Hero knows better. That man was looking for a new third contestant, not help.

“...This is going to be hilarious to watch.” Aubrey chuckled to herself.

Hero was mixed between agreeing or being disappointed.

Hero, Aubrey, and Omori sat in the front seats yet again. Hero anxious and Aubrey in suspense about what might happen on stage.

The lights dimmed yet again as the green-haired sprout mole walked onto the stage yet again. “Greetings Sweetheart fans! Sorry for the inconvenience earlier but now we are back in action!”

The crowd cheered happily.

“We regret to inform you however an accident occurred on this very stage!” The curtain opened up to reveal a photograph of the old contestant three. “We had the very sudden loss of poor contestant three here. He was a great man, he shall be remembered fondly.” The curtain closed yet again.

“THE SHOW HOWEVER MUST GO ON!”

The sign for Sweethearts Quest For Hearts lower yet again as the crowd cheered.

“May we introduce our new contestant number 3! Coming all the way from the Vast Forest, he is the one, the only, Kelsey!” The sprout mole introduced Kel as he was shoved onto the stage.

“Hey! Be careful! I am sensitive!” Kel stuck out his tongue to the moles backstage before walking to the front of the stage, “Stupid moles, not letting me work backstage…” he grumbled angrily. 

“Sadly, we were not able to get Kel’s height because he doesn’t remember it. His hobbies however include playing sports and drinking Orange Joe, whatever that is…” The mole whispered the last part.

“A good drink, that’s what.” Kel grinned to himself.

“No, it isn’t.” Hero and Aubrey whispered at the same time.

“Finally, it is time to introduce the main character of the show! She emits beauty, she exudes grace, and she truly has the most pulchritudinous face! Yes, you know who we are talking about! She is now about to step foot on this very stage!” The mole shouted, hyping up the crowd.

Meanwhile, Kel, Hero, and Aubrey were whispering a silent pray that Kel doesn’t randomly get shocked by lightning.

“She is the one, the only, the magnificent-” “Ohohohohoh~!” A voice rang out from behind the curtains.

It opened up to reveal Sweetheart, looking like she just jumped out of her anime and on the stage, sitting on a red couch with roses on it.

“Ohohohoho~!” Sweetheart laughed again. 

“An excellent entrance, my liege!” The sprout mole praised her.

“Ah, yes! It is me! Hello, my stupid, adoring fans!” Sweetheart waved to the crowd who cheered in response.

“WE LOVE YOU, SWEETHEART! YOU'RE THE BEST!”

Aubrey had to repress a snort at that while Hero just rolled his eyes. He guessed Sunny still saw her as a selfish person.

~~~~~~

_“Sunny, may I ask you why you dislike Sweetheart so much?” Hero asked the young boy, genuinely curious, why he dislikes the show._

_“...she is just...rude...all the time…to controlling as well...” he muttered._

_“What makes you think that? I think she is kinda nice! Sure a little rough but she means well...” Mari wondered aloud._

_“She never listens to anyone…. And she bosses around them….She is...mean….Dislike….” Sunny grumbled._

_“Whatever you say, little bro.” Mari sighed, giving up on changing his mind._

~~~~~~

Sweetheart let out another hearty laugh as the crowd cheered for her.

“Sweetheart, today we brought out some of the best three bachelors we could find!” The mole smiled, “Will today be the day one steals your heart?”

“Start the questions!” She commanded and the mole nodded.

“One thing that Sweetheart values the most is complete obedience! Do you, contestant one, agree to pledge your allegiance to Sweetheart for the rest of your life?” The green-haired mole asked.

“Uh, sure? I dunno…” Contestant one looked nervously to the side.

“Playing hard to get, I see! What do you think, Sweetheart?” The mole asked. 

“Just three feet tall? That is way too short for me! Send him off to The Dungeon!” Sweetheart commanded. 

“H-huh?! What!? T-The Dungeon!?” The first contestant began to panic.

Two more sprout moles decked in armor walked onto the stage with swords strapped to their head. They surrounded the first contestant and picked him up (don’t ask Hero how they just did.) and walked him off stage while he screamed for help.

Hero suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.

“Now onto contestant number two!” The mole announced as if someone wasn’t just dragged to prison to rot for eternity.

“Alright, how are we bailing Kel out…” Aubrey whispered.

“We are probably going to get put into a battle…” Hero groaned.

Omori nodded in agreement.

“Contestant number two! Would you like to pledge your allegiance to Sweetheart for all of eternity?” The host asked.

“Sure! Please don’t send me to The Dungeon…” The mole whispered the last part nervously.

Sweetheart walked to the second one and stared him down, “Hm, this one...his very being offends me! Take him away!” she commanded the guards again.

The mole tried to run offstage but the guards caught him before it was too late, dragging the poor mole into The Dungeon.

Now it was only Kel remaining on the stage. He was sweating bullets that Hero could see from here.

“Contestant three! Looks like you are the last one standing!” The mole praised.

“Haha, yep! The last one standing…” Kel nervously laughed.

“The same question! Kel, do you pledge your allegiance to Sweetheart for the rest of your life?” The mole asked.

“Uhhhh” Kel looked at his friends.

Aubrey, Hero, and Omori were all shaking their heads no.

“No. I deserve my rights to do whatever I please!” Kel answered, silently berating himself because he knows he is going to be sent to the dungeon for that one.

“Ohohoho~? What is this? Someone has a little spice in them,” Sweetheart chuckled, “Hmm, he is a little cute, not as cute as the man in the crowd in stripes.”

Hero began sweating as Sweetheart winked at him.

“You know what Kel? It is Kel right?” Sweetheart asked. Kel nodded in response, “Well Kel, do you perhaps know that boy?”

“Um, yeah? He is my brother.” Kel nodded again.

“I like him. We have a winner~” Sweetheart grinned.

“WHAT AN EXCITING TURN OF EVENTS! SWEETHEART HASN’T CHOSEN ONE OF THE CONTESTANTS BUT INSTEAD A CROWD MEMBER!”

The crowd began to gasp in shock and surprise. Aubrey and Omori looked at each other and then at Hero. Hero only seemed to sigh to himself. The more he stays in this dream world the more he grows to hate it.

“A SURPRISE INDEED EVERYONE! MAN IN STRIPES, DO YOU ACCEPT!?” The mole turned to Hero.

“N-NO!” Hero yelled out desperately. He doesn’t want to deal with this at all.

“Huh. Well then Hero, guess as punishment for not dating me I shall banish your brother. Send him to the dungeon!” Sweetheart dramatically pointed at Kel. 

“HUH!?!” Kel yelled out as moles with swords began to surround him.

Hero was the first one up with his Baking Pan in hand and knocked one of the knights across the room. Aubrey and Omori soon joined in as well and the next thing everyone knew was that they were fighting a hoard of Sprout Moles with swords.

Though unfortunately, when there are only four of you and millions of them the battle seems to be a bit unfair.

It wasn’t a surprise to Hero when he was whacked in the head the next thing he knew was that he was in a cell with Kel, Aubrey, and Omori.

“Morning sleepy head.” Aubrey greeted him.

“Why am I not surprised that we ended up here? Hero groaned.

The mole with the top hat that caused all of this walked to the door with a smile on their face, “Ohohohoho~ YOU FOOLS! I REMEMBER WHAT YOU DID AND OTHERWORLD AND GOT MY REVENGE! THAT IS RIGHT, I AM ROSA!” She threw her tophat to the ground laughing.

“Once again, I am not surprised…” Hero muttered as he got off the ground.

“Can’t believe we were bamboozled…” Kel sighed.

Rosa laughed in their faces before walking away, her laugh still ringing through the halls.

What a fun dream this is becoming. Well, now they need to find a way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Waiting for something to happen?


	16. The dungeon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shortie but a goodie! Hero and friends try to escape jail!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Tumblr users @redrover-redrover and @cormorantcolors for telling me what type of sorta torture device in Sweethearts Castle was.
> 
> Also, nothing bad happens here. I promise!

Turns out, leaving is as easy as could be. Mainly because they didn’t lock the door to their cell at all. Hero thinks that is probably because they are too small to reach the lock. 

The unfortunate part though is how many moles were guarding the place. After knocking one that was right outside their cell out the group made their way forward. 

“Hey, that looks like a button I could hit,” Kel muttered under his breath.

“Please don’t hit random buttons.” Hero warned. It was too late though as Kel threw a ball he had in his pocket right at the button. 

The sound of something lowering could be heard to their left.

“That better be a good thing or I swear to god…” Aubrey grumbled. 

They peeked around the corner to take a look, spotting an area where there used to be spikes being clear and a mole with an ax tapped to it.

“Pfff, look at that guy-” Kel whispered under his breath.

“Kel. Be quiet.” Aubrey shushed him.

Kel only rolled his eyes in response and headshot the mole with his ball. “There, no more mole. May we continue?”

A sigh rang out from the group as they continued ahead, seeing a flamingo near the door. The flamingo let out a squawk, “Up is a special hell for you, my dear!” It squawked again, “Signed, Sweetheart!”

“Lovely.” Hero deadpanned as Kel opened the gate.

“Kel!” Aubrey scolded, whacking him on the head.

“What did I do this time?” Kel asked.

Aubrey looked through the gateway, “You are lucky this doesn’t actually have enemies in it.”

Cardboard boxes were laying around with a jukebox on the floor next to a decorated mirror. For some reason, there was also dog food and a water bowl on the ground. A telescope was pointed to stars that were painted on the wall that for some reason smelled like melting plastic and a bookcase filled with astronomy books.

Astronomy huh…

~~~~~~

_“Look at the stars Sunny! Aren’t they so pretty?” Mari asked her younger brother who sat in awe under the stars._

_Tonight Hero, Mari, Kel, and Sunny were in the hangout spot all by themselves. Aubrey and Basil had to sadly go home early._

_“They’re...nice….” Sunny leaned into Mari who was giving him a side hug._

_"You can say that again! The stars are awesome tonight!” Kel agreed_

_"Hey Sunny, maybe you can become an astronaut when you are older! That way you can get a closer look at the stars!” Hero grinned._

_Sunny let out a little hum as he looked at the stars, “...maybe…”_

~~~~~~

Omori walked over to the shelves of books to see if he could open them. Sadly, all the books were glued shut.

Guess no one is reading them anytime soon. 

“This telescope has its lens covered in tape…” Aubrey pointed out.

“I just realized something,” Kel began, “This is hell for Spaceboy!”

“Oh! That makes sense!” Aubrey nodded.

Hero pressed play on the jukebox and it began playing the special mixtape Spaceboy made for Sweetheart. He then moved to the mirror and realized it was purposely designed to make the person looking at it seem ugly.

“...This is a very toxic environment…” Hero muttered.

“How?” Kel asked, somehow now picking up on how bad this room is.

“Well, the jukebox only plays music that would make Spaceboy think of Sweetheart. The mirror is used to make him think he is ugly and not good enough. He is forced to eat and drink from dog bowls, the books are unreadable and the telescope is unusable.” Hero pointed out all of the flaws this room has.

Omori looked a bit shocked at Hero’s observations and Kel’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You know, I am regretting not letting Spaceboy beat her up if he was treated like this.” Aubrey sighed, “Poor dude…”

“Alright, let’s get going. There isn’t anything here for us.” Hero stated. 

After beating up some more guards the group made it to the bottom left of the area, finding yet another heart-shaped button right next to a door with spikes. The group pressed the button and the spikes lowered, allowing them to open the gate.

They walked inside to find two sprout moles sitting next to a trap door and a skeleton laying down against the wall. Not creepy at all…

“Uh, hey little guys, is that trap door unlocked?” Kel asked.

“I don’t know, hold on…” one of the sprout moles kicked open the door, “Nope!”

“Um, sweet, we are just gonna head in. Okay?” Hero asked nervously, hoping they wouldn't attack.

“Sure! Go ahead!” The other mole smiled.

The group looked at each other as they began to climb down the hatch. Heading upwards they found a button that could be hit with Kel’s ball.

“Kel, you’re up!” Hero patted him on the shoulder.

“Sweet!” Kel grabbed his ball and threw it against the button. The spikes blocking their way to continue lowered along with another pair of spikes that were out of sight. 

“Nice job, Kel!” Hero gave a thumbs up.

The group moved forward before Omori suddenly stopped near a wall.

“Huh? What is up Omori?” Kel asked, walking near him.

Omori put his hand through a crack on the wall before slowly crawling his way into the rest of the crack, he made the motion for everyone to follow him. 

Hero wasn’t even sure he would fit into the crack but was pleasantly surprised when he did.

“Woah! Sweet! Nice job, Omori!” Kel praised when he reached the other side. 

Omori only gave Kel a thumbs up in return. 

There was a ladder that led them out another trap door into a room with three skeletons and a hole in the wall. Two chained to the wall and one laying on the ground. 

“You know, I have been stuck down here for so long, I feel like I can barely move a muscle.” One of the skeletons spoke.

“Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t-” “I can hear ya you know!” The skeleton berated Kel who was trying not to laugh.

“Kel, don’t make fun of the elderly!” Aubrey joked under her breath. 

“HEY! I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW I AM 20 YEARS OLD!” The skeleton somehow let out a puff of air, “Kids these days…” 

Omori walked through the hole in the wall with the others only for them to spot the shadow monster yet again. Like always the monster disappeared before anyone could say anything. There were more skeletons in the room with them, chained to the wall and some wearing bows similar to Aubrey’s.

“I feel very welcomed here…” Aubrey muttered.

They walked forward only to find more skeletons strapped to medieval torture racks and guards prowling around.

“Doesn’t this just seem like a fun time?” Kel whispered with a sigh.

“Sure does.” Aubrey sarcastically agreed.

“On the count of three. One, two, THREE-!” Hero and the others ran out and ambushed the group of guards, making sure to knock all of them out.

“Gee, next time we run into another group like that, don’t start a sudden countdown.” Aubrey glared at Hero. 

“Sorry, I just want to leave this place as soon as possible…” Hero sighed to himself.

“...Hey I know this might be a weird thing to bring up but are we being watched?” Kel asked the group.

“What makes you ask that?” Hero shot him a confused look.

“Just the eyes in the wall.” Kel shrugged.

“What eyes- OH MY GOD.” Aubrey realized that yes, eyes were staring at them through holes in the wall.

The eyes, realizing that they could be seen, immediately disappeared. 

“Nice job Aubrey, you scared them away.” Kel scolded.

“WELL MAYBE IF YOU TOLD US SOONER-”

“Okay, okay, please stop fighting. They might not even be friendly and be grabbing guards. There is nothing in this room we need so can we please leave without you two fighting?” Hero begged.

“Fine…”

“Okay…”

~~~~~~

He died again. Each time he does he can’t tell if it hurts more or if it hurts less. All he knows is that the pain disappears and he is forced to walk through another door again.

_Stop crying. You deserved this. Come on, stop being a wuss. Open another door._

His hands shook as he grabbed the knob and slowly turned it. This one looked like their old hangout spot, peaceful and relaxing.

He knew better by now.

He wondered what was next. Maybe he would be dragged into the lake and have his legs torn off so he couldn’t try swimming to freedom. He doesn’t even know how to swim but the dreams like making his deaths as brutal as possible.

_Because you had to make her death worse as well._

He sat down on the docks, his bare feet brushing against the surface of the water. He heard footsteps approach from behind him.

His breath hitched in his throat as he felt the presence sit behind him.

“Why do you do this to yourself…?” A voice asks.

It feels familiar and warm, a voice he should know but can’t recall. He dislikes it. It shouldn’t be nice to him. 

“I deserve it.” He answers.

“Do you?” It asks, rubbing his back carefully as if trying to soothe him.

“Yes.” He shouldn’t be treated with respect. Why hasn’t this thing killed him yet?

“Are you sure?” It began to rub his shoulders comfortably. He despised it.

“Yes.” He responded. Why won’t it just leave him alone?

“Do you think that **he** would agree with this?” 

“...I don’t know what he thinks of me…” He responded truthfully. Was this thing trying to provoke him?

“Do you think she would have wanted you to be like this?” It asked its final question.

“...”

“I know, you don’t want to hear this but-”

“Shut up. Of course, she wouldn’t. I still deserve it, no matter what she thinks.” He did. He knows he did. Why can’t this damn thing except that?

“...You do not-” 

“I SAID SHUT UP!” He turned around and shoved the presence away from him. He heard it fall and fall and fall and fall. A scream rang out with the final thud from the presence. 

Cries and shouts rang out as he realized what he had just done. He shoved her and it was his fault.

_HIS FAULT, HIS FAULT, HIS FAULT, HIS FAULT **HIS FAULT-** _

No...it wasn’t his fault...it was something behind him that shoved it. He would never do something like this on purpose.

W̶̧̮̞̦̥̖̤̘̺̗̱̮̞͓̅̏̈́͊͆̅̚͜͜ͅą̸̨̻͇͇̲̹̠̬̘͖͙̭̯̳̈̽͗̄́͒̈́́̌͂͑͂͘͝͠s̸̤̞̮͕̘̎̉͆̀͐̈́͑͐͛̉͌̃͒̅̈́̕̕͘͘͘ ̷̨̛̭͎̻̯̬̗̘͓͍̦̹̙̬̣̩̩͕͛̿͆̎͋̈͠͠t̵̩̖̜̹͓̥̟̯̞̼͌̎̓̈̊̊̈̈́͒͊̆͂͊͘̚͘̚͝h̷̫̾̌̅̋a̷̛͔̥͚͔̯̪̪͈̞͉̜͒̌̉͆̊̌̈̋̌͆̓̃̾́̊̂͂̚͝͠ͅţ̸͙̝͉͈̥̰͇̗̼̰̃̂͒͑͒̅͋͋̀͂̌͂͌̐̈́ͅ ̴̨̨̰̫͇͓̘̝̖̱̺͔̹̞̞̯̳̱̜̓̈̂͆̈̄̎̆̅̋̇̈́̅͠ͅw̸̟̝͔̱͚̰̗̉̆̄̇͆͝h̴̛̛̲͖̩͚̜̩͎̏̿̂̋́͗͂͛̄͛͛͆͋̊͘͘͝͠͝ͅą̵̧̧̢̹̝͈̮͖̺̺̣̦̠̮͇̹̗̰̜͕̿͐̇̒͆͊̋̌̉͘͜͝͝t̴̢̛̻̩͕̥͈̻̱̬̠͙̬̞͖̥̟̂̌̏̐̎̎̀͆̈̐̔̀̇͘͘͝ ̸̡̾͒̂͂͗̑̋̈́̎̈̐̔̽̍̕̕͠h̶̢̗̘̲̫͚͕̮͂̆̀͑͗͛̅̈̄̍̾͑̆͜ę̷̢̝̺̻̖̤̬͖̺̮̫̫̬̣̑̀͛̄͆ ̶̙̘̟̭̦̖͖̊̕͝f̵̧̢̧͚̩̘̘̼͕̪̻̬̉͐͂̔͌̈́̋̐͗͛͐̀̆̏́̉͗̋̍͜͠ȩ̸̛̩͎̘͓̗͇͍̫̯͚͎͔̝̱͔̦̦͂͋̌͑̇̂̎̍͗͗̉̐́͘͜͝͠͠͝ļ̷̛̬̟̋̃͐͋͒̄͊̓̓̓͒̓̈́͌̑̂̅̊̕t̴̢̨̡͎̗̮̪̘̱̣̲̮͎͉̻̜̦̱̳͚̱̊̄͋͊͒̃̃͆̓̀̋̇́̐͘̕̚͜͝͠͝ ̸̨̛̹͔̬̩̫͕̂͑̇̍͂̅͝t̷̡͖̭̲̫͍͙̲̩̘̓͆͐͆̽̏̑̀̇̅͐̏̀̐͗͝͠ḩ̵͖̳̦͖̺̪̀̔͛̓͒̃̊̊̋͆̔̋̾͂͌͛͐͌̕͝͠ͅȃ̶̢̯̥̹̲̞̙̩̥͆̑̏͠t̷̢̧̥̗̰͉͇̲̺̖͔͕͖͔̤̳̪͇̽̈̆̓̾͗͒̏̈͌̾̓̍̆̐̆͜͠͠ ̶̢̦̩̤̦͈̜̮͍̣̺̠͇̅̔̈͐͗̑̆͐͐̽͂͌̓̄̏͘͜͝d̶̪͕̥̜̟̱̓a̵͖̪̟̙̞̗̗̯̙̫͉͒̽̽̈́̉̕y̷̧̛̛̩̹̭̯̮͙̝̫̹̟̯̹̰̭̠̙̼̗̘̻̐̂͋͑̎̚͜ͅ?̶̯̑̔͌̽̈́̐̐̋͆͗̈́̓͜͠ͅ

A knife fell nearby.

He grabbed it and killed himself, awakening in the black room.

_Time for another door._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y̶͖̜͊o̶̠̼̔̿u̵̢͐͑ ̷̞͝ș̷͕͒̕ḫ̴̟́ơ̴̎ͅù̵͈̑ͅl̵̲̲͛̋d̸̳̤́ ̷͈̌s̵̢̖t̶̼̄ő̴͈̳p̵ͅ ̵̣̦͌̃w̶͎̺̍ạ̴͖͛i̸̞͠t̴̡̒ͅi̸̳̒̈n̸̯̻̍g̴̻͎̚ ̸̰̘̋̐f̸̜̊ŏ̶̢̤͘r̴͉͑͌ͅ ̷̗̐͆s̸̥̆ò̷̧m̵͉̹͘ë̴̲̳́ț̸͐̒h̵̯̀ĭ̸̝͉̚ṋ̸̬̋̆g̸̨͛ ̸͎͚͂̿t̴̫̽õ̴̙ ̵̰͊͝h̵̰̟̏a̵̺̒͘ͅṕ̵̝ͅp̶̣͓͗e̸͔̻̊̚n̵͓͔̆͘.̷̺ ̸̱̟̇N̶̺̅ö̴͎́̕t̶̻̔͘h̶̛̟̲i̶̩̋n̴͙̠̿g̵̜͕̑ ̴̮͘i̴̩͙̾̈́s̵̙͖̊ ̴̦͋̈́g̴̗͊ȯ̴̦̥̊i̷̧͈̓n̵̼̜̆͝g̷͖͌ ̸̥̓̾t̶͕̄̇ͅọ̶̃ ̷̯͉̈́h̷̻͖̍ä̷͍̆p̵̭̓̀p̷̖̀̆͜e̸̛͈̮̐n̷͎͖̓͋ ̴͈̾͋ĭ̴̖͘f̶̝͗̔ ̵͕̂y̷̱o̵̒̋ͅu̶͓͕͋͘ ̵̰̔̌j̵̳́ù̸̞s̶̰̜͐̀t̶̥̪̐̓ ̶̗̃s̷̱͑i̵̟̿̓ṫ̵̮̲ ̷̫̄̎a̸͎̍̉n̷̦̝̑d̴̖͐̅ ̵͕̫̋͛w̶̖̦̑͘a̸̮͊i̷̭͋t̵͙̪̔̇.̷̦̤͐̆ ̶̮͔̔T̸͖̊a̸͈̅k̴̻̕ȇ̶̖ ̷̙̩͊̆ấ̴͈̤c̷̛̦̍t̷͎̔ḭ̷̋ó̶̱̾n̸̰͙͛̓ ̶͙͕̕f̴̖͔̒ȏ̶̼͆r̷̼̎ ̴͚̍o̴͇͎͌n̷̨̺̔̃c̴̰͓͗ê̵̱̮͆ ̶̠̃ī̶̛͓͍n̸̻͌̂ ̶̹̞͒y̵̨̎ö̶̧͎u̸͘͜r̴̡̹͂ ̵̗̘̈́̚l̵̺͎͛i̷͖͘f̴̲̒͛e̶̝͖̿.̵̯̌̈ ̷̮̿̕P̷̘͊͜͝l̵̗͉͐͝e̵͕̿͠ā̷̧̰͑s̴̜̯͗͠ê̴̻̱͋.̶̗̈́ ̸̻̈́͝D̸͈̍ö̶́̚͜ ̶̀̐͜s̶͊͜o̵̡̓͠m̵̢̦͝e̵̙̍ť̴̘͎͑h̵̰͙̓î̵̩̈́n̷̳̔g̴̡̾.̴̧̚ ̶̝̖̆̈́A̶̧͎͆ṇ̷̲͗y̶̦̻̏t̶̩̙͊̒h̷̊ͅͅi̶̩̜̇ņ̶͠g̴̡͚̚.̵̹͒́.̵͇̼̎.̵̟͆̍


	17. The dungeon pt2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finishing this place up because no one likes dungeons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a mini-break! Might upload tomorrow as well, idk yet...

Getting lost was as easy as getting Kel to smile. This place feels more and more like a labyrinth than a prison the longer Hero walked in it. 

Not to mention all the dangerous knights and torture equipment. Walking down a corridor they come up to a pair of spikes sticking out of the ground.

“Darn, guess we gotta go another way..” Kel sighed.

“Ugh! This place is so confusing!” Aubrey complained.

Suddenly the spikes went down surprising the whole group. Mari then peaked her head around the corner with a smile, “You know, if ya need help you could have just asked.”

“MARI!”

Hero had never been so happy to see her here. Of course, Mari would come when they needed help, Sunny did call on her whenever he was in a struggle.

“Now that you all are here, you can have a picnic with me! If you want to, of course!” Mari sat down on her blanket like always. Next to Mari was a jar of pickles which Kel immediately hissed at like a cat.

“Imagine disliking pickles,” Aubrey opened the jar and handed one to Omori as she grabbed another one and looked Kel dead in the eye, “Couldn’t be me~”

“You both are absolutely disgusting.” Kel looked at the duo eating in disgust.

“Psst, Hero, wanna know why I brought pickles?” Mari whispered to him.

Hero never suspected she would try to talk to him one on one, so needless to say he was kind of worried. Was this the part the dream was going to go sour? He hoped not.

“W-why did you bring pickles?” He asked.

“Because,” she did a twirl and then finger gunned, “It seemed like you were in one!”

“...” Hero rendered what he just heard, “...OH!” 

“Get it? You were in a pickle-” “So you brought pickles!”

Hero let out a laugh at that.

“See? Knew you would get it!” She grinned.

She then proceeded to laugh a bit more before sitting down but that laugh was still in the air. It sounded just like hers.

Hero had to bite his lip to prevent his emotions from showing.

“Why don’t next time you bring jam?” Kel muttered, “Would have made a better joke…”

“Sorry Kel, if it makes you feel better I have a Hershey-” “I’LL TAKE IT!”

Kel happily munched down on the bar. 

“Hey Hero, I have a question to ask you really quick.” Mari turned to the boy yet again.

Hero swallowed nervously, hoping it was just another pun.

“Was there any chance you would have said yes to Sweetheart?” Mari asked, a layer on her voice that Hero knew all too well. 

“Absolutely not. She was nowhere near my type.” Hero quickly spoke.

“Oh? Then who is your type?” She asked with a smile.

“...” Hero blushed and looked away.

“C’mon, say it~” Mari continued, chuckling. 

“Mmmmm” Hero continued to avoid eye contact.

“You. You're his type.” Aubrey spoke up. 

“PFF” Mari began laughing as Hero wished to wake up about now. 

“Eh, the only person I could imagine liking Sweetheart is Spaceboy.” Kel laughed. 

“True but they are so very toxic, like poison toxic. Spaceboy deserves better.” Aubrey nodded to herself.

“A thing we can finally agree on!” Kel grinned.

Hero looked around and noticed a ladder behind Mari. Grabbing one bar he let the others know that he was just going to check if it was safe. He opened the trapdoor and saw one of the dudes from the village sitting in there.

“I got arrested for smuggling items I shouldn’t have if ya curious.” The being spoke up, seeing Hero’s confusion, “That said, old habits die hard and I have things to sell.” 

“What do you have?” Hero asked.

“A couple of healing items, a book, and some jam.” The being grinned.

Hero came back with a poetry book, a few sodas, and finally a couple of jars of life jam. He had to ask Omori to cover the cost. Luckily they could.

After cleaning up the picnic and waving to Mari goodbye the group headed off down a trail. Running into yet another button that Kel had to throw a ball at to press.

The sound of spikes lowering rang out and the group made their way over only to find another button that Aubrey got to press.

“Haha! First!” she stuck her tongue out at Kel.

“Whatever, I was close!” Kel groaned.

Suddenly the sound of an explosion rang out startling everyone. They go to check to see what happened but when they arrived there was nothing, except a button.

“Huh, how did we miss this one?” Kel asked.

“Don’t know…” Aubrey trailed off. 

Hero went over and pressed it, another pair of spikes lowering. 

Before going to the spikes, however, Omori grabbed Hero and nervously tugged on his shirt.

“Is there something you need Omori?” Hero asked the boy.

Omori nodded and made the motion for everyone to follow him.

He led them to a ladder that put them in another cell with two skeletons and a toilet. The most important thing in that room however was another button that Omori got the pleasure to push. 

This lowered some spikes right outside their cells that the group went out to investigate. They opened the cell door the spikes were previously guarding only to see a black fuzz in the air once again.

“Ah yes, another fuzz. Still don’t know why you like them.” Kel muttered.

Omori grabbed it and his body slumped in disappointment.

“If you don’t like them, why do you keep grabbing them?” Kel asked.

“Well to be fair, once he got one he seemed pretty happy. Maybe it is random? Some good, some bad?” Hero speculated. 

Omori stared at them a bit before slowly nodding.

“Ah, then you got a bad one. That sucks dude.” Kel nodded in understanding.

“Better luck next time, let’s get going now before a guard finds us,” Aubrey stated.

Everyone nodded and walked out of the cell and down the ladder. This time they went to where the spikes lowered found yet another ladder. This time when they went up however they were not in a cell but a long hallway instead.

“D-Did we do it? Are we out?” Kel muttered.

“We don’t know yet. Stay on guard.” Hero commanded.

The group nodded and silently began walking down the hall. Opening the end hall door and practically running out they ran into three guards.

“Halt! Did you really think escape would be that easy? Get back into the dungeon now!” The mole yelled.

“Damn it!” Aubrey hissed.

“We shouldn’t have run out that quick…” Kel muttered. 

Hero looked down before getting a sudden idea. Those masks that the centipede monster dropped, he could use those! 

Hero quickly threw on a mask and looked towards the mole, “On the contrary my good knight, I think you have us confused for someone else!” Hero quickly shoved three masks into Kel’s hands who passed them out to the others. 

They quickly put on the masks as if their lives depended on them.

“Don’t be quick to judge us! We are sprout moles as well, you know!?” Kel nervously sputtered out.

“Yes, we also love Sweetheart and Tofu! Mmm, delicious tofu!” Aubrey also quickly added.

“...” Omori said nothing as usual.

“My lord, I am oh so sorry! My eyes must have confused you with a past vision! I apologize, brethren!” The knight quickly apologized. 

“It is quite alright, good sir, just don’t do it again.” Hero stated.

“Carry on then, I shall continue with my patrol. Have a nice day!” The knight walked away.

“Nice one Hero!” Kel praised.

Hero just wished he could wake up already. He feels more exhausted than when he had to pull three all-nighters.

What an awful few days that was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...  
> :)


	18. Sweetheart's Castle pt1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They begin exploring the castle! Nothing else really happens, sorry!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, smiley faces go brrrr

_Get up._

“…”

_I said get up._

“…”

_...You are trying to be clever, aren’t you?_

“Tired...please...rest...” He muttered.

_Oh? So now you decide to talk back to me?_

“...I am tired...please a little rest...” He grabbed his shoulders and began to shake, “Please…”

_You are confusing, one moment you agree with me that you deserve this hell, and the next you want to stop? No wonder why they all hate you…_

The voice was right. This is why he was hated by them...Then he remembered a voice. One he knows well.

_“Also about what you said before, about how we used to be friends…”_

He felt a hand placed on to his shoulder supportively, though there was no one there.

_“We are still friends!”_

He felt tears pool in the corner of his eyes, remembering Kel’s words to him.

Those supportive words. The words that we're able to give him a slight joy. Ones that might have lessened his pain, even if it was just a bit.

_Oh no. Not you thinking he was serious._

“What do you mean?” He asked the voice. It suddenly felt cold on his back, as if someone was wrapping themselves around him in a hug. The hug felt off though. Unsafe.

_That was clearly just an act of pity! He only said that because he knew if he didn’t you would have cried like a **little bitch!** _

“N-No, he meant it. I know Kel! He would-”

_You haven’t spoken in four years! The years change people! Or don’t you think Aubrey is enough proof of that!?_

“K-Kel isn’t like Aubrey, he wouldn’t have-” He stuttered.

_Don’t give me that. Once again he only took pity because he sees you as a shard of his past that had barely changed. He likes you because you don’t change. He likes you because you're broken, miserable, human that he can play hero with._

“SHUT UP!” He grabbed the sketchbook and threw it. It looped around the room however and ended up hitting him from behind.

_You're pathetic. Just the way they like you. A broken human for them to put back together and shatter again._

“P-please stop…” Tears fell from his eyes as he felt his chest tighten. Sobs ranged out in the empty room.

The cold on his back felt suffocating. Like the one hugging him turned it into a way to crush his organs.

_...Useless trash. I will let you have the break you wanted so badly. Enjoy it._

He collapsed on the floor, tears still coming from his eyes. If he focused enough he could feel a light breeze through his hair, as if someone was stroking it gently.

J̸̪̠̆̋u̴̗̥͘ŝ̵̙t̴̗͝ ̶̧̓l̴̖̦̍i̷̡̭̓͗k̵̖͝ę̶̑͂ ̵̝̊s̵̲͝h̷̺̰͆e̷͓̓ ̷̪̍͝ǘ̶͈͈̌s̸̙͖̓͝e̴̞̹͂ḏ̸̫̈́ ̵͒ͅt̶̯̉o̶̯̎.̵̟͝ͅ.̴͚̌.̴̬͜͝

**“Stay strong, Basil.”**

~~~~~~

Sweethearts castle was huge, to say the least. Hero knows for sure this place is going to be way bigger than the Junkyard they explored last time.

“So where do we even begin?” Aubrey asked the group.

Omori simply shrugged in response.

“Ah, why don’t we just pick a hallway and explore!” Kel suggested.

“Honestly what else could we do?” Hero sighed.

“Alright, Omori! Pick a hall and we’ll follow you!” Kel grinned.

Omori nodded and thus the group began heading through the top left hallway. Sweetheart statues lined the hallways, each in the same obnoxious pose. Hero was starting to see why Sunny hates her.

“Graa! This way is the Upper Chambers! To the bottom left is the Gallery and the Library! Graa!” A flamingo yelled once Omori poked it.

“The chambers? I don’t really think we should go that way…” Kel muttered.

“I agree, what if Sweetheart is up there?” Aubrey looked towards Hero.

“I say that we save that place for last, that is, if we need to go there…” Hero spoke confidently, “What about you Omori? Thoughts?” Hero silently began berating himself, Omori wasn’t going to speak!

What Omori did instead do, however, was give Hero a supportive thumbs up to show he liked the plan.

Omori then proceeded to lead them downwards into the bottom left hall which was also lined with the same statues from above. She really liked her own face, didn’t she?

Kel jokingly walked over to a statue and touched it, “Boop!”

“Kel!” Aubrey yelled. She gasped in shock when the statue he touched changed into Sweetheart holding an umbrella.

“Guys, stop messing with the statues! We might get caught!” Hero scolded in a whisper.

“Sorry…” Kel and Aubrey awkwardly looked away.

Up ahead there were multiple sprout moles. Some running around and some simply standing still, blocking the way past. Another mole was standing in front of them, seeming to be yelling about something. The group walked closer to hear the conversation they were having.

“Let me through! You don’t know how long I have waited to see Sweetheart’s latest work!” One mole yelled.

“Please let me in! I will write you a good review! Swear!” Another one added.

“I wonder what this is about…” Hero pondered.

“Well whatever it is, we should probably head down first before checking this out. This seems...important.” Aubrey spoke her thoughts.

“Yeah I agree, continue leading Omori!” Hero nodded.

The group headed downwards and took a right.

“Bah, dead-end on this side. Let’s- Omori?” Kel watched as the black and white boy walked upstairs that seemingly led to a wall before touching it, his hand sinking through as if it was liquid.

Everyone except him gasped.

“Awesome!” Kel ran to Omori.

“Wait for me!” Aubrey ran as well.

“Guys! It might be dangerous!” Hero followed last, concerned for everyone's safety.

The wall leads them into a dungeon-like designed room. Cages that seemed like only birds or sprout moles could fit in hung from the ceiling. 

“Huh, seems like another part of the dungeon.” Kel pointed out.

“Might be unused. Keep an eye out though…” Hero added.

After walking down three long staircases the air kept getting colder and colder.

It reminded Hero of the Lost Woods.

There was a hole in the roof, leading sunlight down into what looked to be a sewer gutter to Hero, but in this place, who knows? It might be a torture device.

There was also a doorway covered in gold with fancy decor. Two torches on each side of it.

“Are we prepared to walk in there?” Kel asked, feeling nervous.

“Don’t know. However, we will find out.” Hero looked over to Omori who gave him a quick nod.

Walking through the doorway allowed them to meet another shadow-like being with its back bent backward inhumanly and a face with no eyes and an empty mouth.

The group was too startled to speak and were about to back away until it spoke. Or was it speaking? It was hard to tell because its mouth didn’t move.

“Y̶o̸u̸ ̶a̶r̴e̸ ̷b̸r̷a̷v̴e̷ ̵t̸o̸ ̷c̴o̸m̴e̸ ̸h̴e̶r̶e̷,̶ ̶y̴o̶u̵n̵g̵ ̵o̵n̸e̴s̸.̵ ̴T̶e̶l̸l̴ ̸m̴e̸,̴ ̶a̶r̵e̸ ̵y̷o̶u̵ ̶e̴n̵j̴o̸y̸i̶n̷g̶ ̴S̵w̴e̵e̵t̵h̴e̷a̵r̴t̴'̸s̵ ̷C̵a̵s̵t̷l̶e̵?̴” It asked.

“Nope.”

“Nada.”

“Not at all.”

Omori shook his head in disapproval.

“I̴ ̷c̸a̷n̴ ̶t̷e̴l̴l̸,̸ ̵y̵o̸u̶r̷ ̴f̶a̴c̵e̷s̴ ̴s̸a̴y̷ ̴i̴t̷ ̷a̴l̶l̴.̸ ̵T̷h̴a̴t̵ ̶g̵i̵r̶l̶ ̸i̷s̶ ̶s̵o̸ ̸e̶l̵a̸b̷o̶r̶a̸t̵e̴.̸ ̵T̸h̶i̷s̶ ̸p̴l̷a̶c̴e̷,̵ ̵i̷t̵ ̷t̵a̶k̶e̸s̶ ̸t̵h̶e̴ ̷f̸o̵r̷m̷ ̵o̸f̷ ̶o̴n̴e̵'̸s̴ ̵d̴e̶e̷p̶e̸s̸t̸ ̵d̸e̶s̴i̴r̸e̶s̵.̵ ̶A̶ ̵p̵l̸a̵c̴e̸ ̷t̴o̷ ̶c̵a̸l̷l̶ ̴h̴o̵m̸e̷.̸” The voice in the being explained.

“Gee, if these are her desires then she might need help,” Aubrey whispered under her breath before being lightly elbowed by Hero.

“I̷ ̸h̸a̸v̴e̶ ̵g̶i̶v̷e̸n̷ ̴h̵e̸r̸ ̶h̶e̷l̸p̸ ̶b̷y̵ ̵g̸i̴v̷i̷n̴g̶ ̵h̶e̶r̴ ̵t̴h̴i̴s̵ ̵p̷l̸a̷c̷e̵.̷ ̵S̸h̶e̸ ̵u̶s̶e̵d̴ ̴t̶o̵ ̶l̵i̴v̶e̵ ̸i̵n̵ ̵a̷ ̴d̵e̵s̴s̵e̷r̷t̴ ̵y̵o̸u̶ ̴k̶n̶o̷w̶.̵ ̷S̸h̴e̸ ̸e̸v̶e̶n̷ ̸b̷e̴g̴g̶e̷d̶ ̴t̸o̸ ̷m̷e̸ ̴o̷n̵ ̴h̴e̶r̶ ̴k̵n̸e̵e̷s̴ ̸t̵o̵ ̵m̴a̶k̵e̵ ̷t̸h̵i̵s̷ ̷p̶l̷a̵c̷e̸.̴” The voice seemed to get angry at Aubrey’s comment. Maybe it respected Sweetheart? Weird...

“A dessert? Omori, is there a dessert?” Kel asked.

Omori pulled out his map and surprisingly nodded in confirmation.

“Huh, interesting!” Kel smiled, “Nice Omori!” 

“I̷ ̵g̶a̶v̵e̶ ̸h̸e̸r̷ ̷t̷h̸i̶s̴ ̷p̶l̵a̶c̵e̷.̸ ̵A̷ ̵p̷l̵a̵c̸e̵ ̸t̴o̸ ̵m̶a̵k̸e̷ ̵h̸e̴r̷ ̴h̷o̵m̸e̶ ̸a̶n̷d̶ ̵o̵f̷ ̷h̴e̷r̸ ̷d̵e̵e̷p̵e̵s̴t̷ ̵d̴e̷s̶i̵r̸e̸s̶.̶ ̶R̵i̴c̷h̵e̴s̵,̷ ̶s̴o̸l̶d̷i̴e̴r̸s̵,̵ ̸a̴ ̵s̸t̶a̵g̵e̴ ̶t̷o̶ ̶a̵l̴l̴o̶w̷ ̶h̸e̶r̶s̶e̷l̶f̵ ̶t̵o̴ ̸f̸l̷a̷u̴n̷t̵ ̸h̷e̸r̶ ̶p̸o̷w̸e̵r̸s̴!̷ Y̸e̵t̷ ̶s̵h̴e̴ ̶w̴a̷n̷t̷s̵ ̸m̶o̶r̷e̷.̴.̵.̸” The voice sighed before continuing, “S̸h̶e̶ ̷m̸u̵s̷t̵ ̷b̷e̶ ̶c̸u̵r̸s̸e̷d̸ ̸t̴o̵ ̷w̴a̵n̴t̶ ̸m̴o̴r̷e̷ ̴a̶n̷d̸ ̴m̷o̷r̸e̴ ̶t̴h̶e̵n̵ ̷w̴h̴a̶t̶ ̵s̸h̵e̸ ̵g̷o̸t̴.̵ ̸N̵o̶ ̸m̷a̵t̸t̴e̶r̴.̶ ̴S̴o̵o̸n̷ ̴s̸h̵e̶ ̸w̷i̵l̷l̸ ̵l̷e̶a̷v̵e̶ ̴a̸n̷d̵ ̵n̷o̶t̴ ̶r̷e̸t̶u̵r̶n̷.̶”

“Really?” Hero asked.

“Y̸e̵s̶.̶ ̴S̸o̶o̸n̸e̷r̴ ̶o̷r̶ ̸l̴a̸t̸e̵r̷.̴ ̸W̷e̶ ̴h̴a̴v̶e̶ ̵t̷o̷ ̶w̷a̶i̷t̶.̴” The voice chuckled, “O̴r̸ ̸a̴t̵ ̸l̷e̵a̴s̵t̷ ̸I̸ ̴n̶e̵e̴d̵ ̴t̶o̸ ̷w̵a̷i̷t̵.̸ ̴Y̴o̵u̶ ̵d̸o̷n̸'̷t̶ ̸n̵e̴e̵d̵ ̵t̶o̶ ̴d̴o̷ ̶a̷n̸y̶t̶h̸i̴n̷g̸,̶ ̵j̸u̷s̷t̵ ̴g̶o̶ ̷a̵b̴o̸u̷t̷ ̴y̴o̴u̷r̶ ̷b̵u̴s̸i̴n̷e̸s̷s̴ ̸a̴s̷ ̸n̴o̷r̷m̴a̶l̸ ̷a̸n̴d̸ ̴t̶h̸i̸n̸e̴ ̴s̷h̵o̸u̴l̴d̷ ̷b̶e̸ ̴f̴i̵n̷e̶.̵”

“What will you do when she is gone?” Kel asked.

“S̴i̸m̵p̷l̴e̸ ̷y̶o̶u̶n̸g̷ ̴o̶n̶e̸s̵,̴ ̶I̶ ̴w̸i̶l̶l̶ ̶f̸i̶n̴d̷ ̷a̴ ̸n̶e̴w̶ ̷o̷w̴n̵e̷r̴.̵ ̶I̶n̵ ̵f̸a̸c̷t̴-̵” The being looked towards Omori, its neck letting out a loud crack when doing so “I̵ ̶m̴i̸g̸h̶t̴ ̵h̴a̷v̵e̷ ̵a̸l̶r̵e̶a̸d̵y̶ ̵f̸o̸u̶n̴d̶ ̸o̶n̵e̶.̵ ̵C̵o̸m̵e̵ ̵b̷a̷c̶k̴ ̴w̵h̵e̷n̷ ̵s̴h̵e̸ ̸i̸s̴ ̸g̷o̵n̷e̶.̵ ̷O̸r̴ ̸n̵o̴t̸,̸ ̷i̶t̴ ̴i̴s̷ ̷u̵p̵ ̴t̷o̶ ̶t̸h̴i̶n̶e̴ ̵t̵o̴ ̶d̴e̴c̸i̸d̵e̷.̵” It laughed.

Everyone jumped back minus Omori, who weirdly seemed not worried at all by this.

“Y̸o̸u̷ ̶m̸i̷g̷h̵t̵ ̶w̵a̵n̸t̴ ̴t̸o̵ ̶g̷e̷t̶ ̶g̶o̴i̴n̷g̷.̴ ̴T̶h̵e̶ ̴n̷i̵g̶h̴t̶ ̷i̷s̷ ̸n̵o̷t̶ ̶g̷o̷i̸n̵g̷ ̴t̸o̶ ̶s̷l̸o̴w̶ ̸a̸f̵t̶e̷r̸a̵l̶l̴~̶” The voice continued to laugh.

Kel grabbed Omori’s hand and everyone sprinted out of the room leaving the being alone.

“.̴.̷.̶I̶t̸ ̷s̴e̶e̷m̶s̶ ̴l̸i̵k̷e̵ ̵t̶h̴i̷s̸ ̷i̴s̷ ̷t̶h̷e̶ ̴e̶n̴d̴.̶ ̵Y̶o̸u̶ ̵w̵o̵n̶'̵t̸ ̷s̶e̶e̴ ̴m̷e̷ ̷a̵g̶a̴i̸n̷.̴ ̸T̸e̸l̸l̴ ̵y̴o̶u̵r̶ ̵f̵r̴i̶e̶n̸d̵s̸ ̴I̵ ̴s̶a̴i̵d̵ ̶h̵i̵,̵ ̶v̵i̵e̶w̷e̷r̶s̴.̷” It smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **T̵h̵e̶y̶ ̴s̵h̶o̶u̷l̵d̵n̷'̶t̴ ̴b̵e̷ ̴a̵b̵l̶e̴ ̸t̸o̶ ̴s̸p̵e̷a̷k̸ ̷w̷h̵e̷n̵ ̸o̸n̶e̷ ̴o̶f̴ ̸t̸h̶e̷m̵ ̵a̵r̷e̵ ̷a̸r̵o̵u̶n̶d̸.̷ ̸T̶h̴i̸s̴ ̷i̸s̷ ̴n̴o̵t̶ ̶t̶o̴ ̸t̸h̴e̸ ̶s̶c̷r̴i̷p̸t̸ ̴a̸t̸ ̴a̷l̶l̸.̴ ̸K̵e̷e̵p̶ ̶a̶c̷t̷i̸n̶g̷.̶ ̴L̸e̴a̴r̵n̶ ̵m̴o̷r̵e̷.̷**
> 
> ~~~~~~
> 
> _Break time is over. Let us start again, shall we?_


	19. Sweetheart's Castle pt2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Library and Gallery get explored!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I plan on answering some questions before you read the chapter. Don't worry, this will be short! Are you okay with bonus scenes? When the fic is finished I will write scenarios that I didn't let the cast experience in the main story, for example, Orange Oasis (sorry for all of ya'll who wanted this to be in the main story.). No this will not include the Hikkiomori route events. Tell me what you think okay!

“...So we agree to never talk to that thing again?” Hero asked the group after they left the Keeper of the Castle behind.

“Yep.” Aubrey and Kel both nodded.

“Good, cause I really don’t want to deal with that again…” Hero sighed.

The group began to walk yet again down the corridors of Sweethearts Castle. Making their way forward they found a door at the end of the hall with a flamingo standing outside it.

“Graa! Royal library! No reading without permission!” It squawked.

Walking into the room, Hero was in shock at how many books there were. It was like a reader's dream to have this many! He wondered how many were just for show or actually read.

In front of them was a long line leading to the top of the library. Some moles were chatting excitedly while others were loudly complaining about others in the line. It was a mess.

“Should we cut the line or…?” Kel brought up.

“I mean, they seem so busy with themselves they might not notice.” Aubrey shrugged.

Omori walked out of the line and to a bookshelf with a ladder on it. He climbed up the ladder and took out a book and tried to open it. The pages however were glued shut.

“Darn. No reading time for us then.” Kel let out a mini chuckle.

“Bet all the books here are bad anyway.” Aubrey shrugged.

Omori made a motion for everyone to follow him as they passed up the sprout moles by simply cutting in line.

Before talking to the mole in charge, Omori walked to a ghost that was floating out of a teacup.

“Oohoooo, I have a question for you!” It began, “Do you think that ghosts would be considered a gas?”

“Yes,” Kel answered.

“No,” Aubrey answered.

“...Please don’t fight over this…” Hero silently begged.

“We won’t.” They both spoke at the same time. Though Hero knew by the look in their eyes that they were definitely going to fight about this later. Hopefully, after they wake up so he doesn’t have to deal with it…

“Oh my! There is simply no time to admit entry to all these unruly guests!” The mole upfront groaned, “It goes to show we can’t underestimate the popularity of dear Sweetheart.” 

The mole turned towards the group, “You there! Servants with ugly faces! The upcoming event has a strict dress code! The chart over there has what we are looking for! It is so simple that even folks you aren’t moles can understand it!”

The group walked over to the board, mildly angry at the fact they were called ugly. They looked at the board to see everything but pink was banned.

“So what do we do with this info?” Hero asked.

“Simple! Bring the lesser guests who aren't following the rules to me. I shall take it from there.” the mole let out a huff, “Now get to it!”

The group quickly obeyed, not wanting to get sent to The Dungeon yet again. 

“We’ll start from the bottom and go to the top.” Hero stated. Everyone nodded in agreement with Hero’s words.

Kel walked up to one of the wrong colored moles and opened his mouth. “Ew! Don’t talk to me! You look like a wet dog!” The mole snapped before Kel could even speak.

“...Ow…” Kel muttered feeling sad.

“PFF HAHAHA!” Aubrey laughed in Kel’s face.

“Oh, shut up!” Kel stuck his tongue out at her.

“Yeah lady, if anything you look like you played in the mud when you were younger and trailed the dirt all over the house you slob!” The mole insulted Aubrey next.

“...Ow…” It was Aubrey’s turn to feel hurt.

“Ooo! Do Omori next!” Kel grinned. 

“No. No more insults please.” Hero begged the gods.

“Oh? Anything for you cutie~” The mole flirted.

“This is ten times worse. Why me?” Hero looked down in disappointment at the universe.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” Kel and Aubrey laughed hard at Hero’s misery. 

Even Omori looked a little amused.

The group sent Hero off to grab all the wrongly dressed sprout moles and laughed each time he was flirted with by one of them.

“I absolutely despise this…” He groaned to himself.

“This is what you get for being nice.” Aubrey shrugged.

“Yeah bro, you put this upon yourself.” Kel laughed.

Finally, Hero finished rounding up the moles and brought them to the head one. 

“I-I did what you asked…” Hero sighed, hoping he doesn’t need to do anything else.

“Good! Now we can get rid of the un-pinkish guests!” The mole grinned.

“GUARDS! TAKE THE UN-PINK MOLES INTO THE DUNGEON!” The mole commanded the guards.

The guards strolled on over and began forcing the other moles into a line before forcibly walking them out the door.

“And that takes care of that! They won’t ever see the light of day again! Good for them!” The mole laughed.

Now Hero might have hated them but that seemed way too harsh. He knows though that if he speaks up they would send him to The Dungeon though so he kept his mouth shut.

Now that the group had finished their tasks in the library they were allowed to leave peacefully.

Only a single doorway down was a whole movie theater. Sprout moles were sitting, watching the movie peacefully. 

Scanning the seats Hero noticed Sweetheart herself. 

“Woah! This place is so-” Kel’s mouth was covered by Hero’s hand who then pointed over to Sweetheart who luckily didn’t notice them. 

“Oh, whoops, that could have been bad…” Kel nervously laughed.

“No kidding! Be careful next time!” Aubrey scolded.

Omori walked down and took one of the empty seats, seemingly waiting for the others to join him.

Hero sighed as he took a seat near Omori. Kel and Aubrey sat nearby as well. The movie was awful, it was just sprout moles on a beach with Sweetheart, the same scene repeating over and over again just with new dialog over it.

Omori seemed content with it though for some reason. Oh well, whatever floats his boat.

Eventually, the movie ended and another one began to play. Hero managed to convince the other three to simply get up and leave the room.

Omori being Omori however decided to walk near Sweetheart.

“Omori!” Hero whispered trying to pull him over with an invisible lasso.

Omori poked Sweetheart only for her to do nothing in return, surprising everyone but Omori. Turned out it was a super realistic doll. Omori looked at Hero before punching the doll lightly for fun.

“...” Hero now understands Sunny’s hatred for her. She is way too self-absorbed if she sells things like that.

“Can we go now?” Aubrey whispered.

Hero nodded, walking over to Omori and dragging him out of the room as well.

They walked through the hall to see that the mole blockage was still there.

“Gee, are these guys ever going to move?” Kel asked.

“We could slide by them.” Hero pointed out.

“Oh! Good idea Hero!” Kel grinned.

They slid past the guards and walked into the door they were blocking. Inside was a huge room filled with paintings and decorations alike.

Up ahead were three podiums. One had a toilet on it, the second one empty, and the third had one of the black fuzzies on it.

“Hey, Omori! There is one of your black fuzzy things!” Kel pointed to it with a smile.

Omori nodded and walked forward, grabbing it with ease. Omori seemed to be in a better mood grabbing it.

However, picking up the fuzz left a black hole in the ground. 

“Huh, why was it covering up a hole?” Kel pondered.

“I don’t know...I have a sudden bad feeling about it though…” Hero grumbled.

Omori got up onto the podium and stuck his leg into the hole.

“You can’t be serious-” Hero didn’t finish as Omori dropped himself into the hole.

“Oh god damn it!” Aubrey cursed as she followed behind Omori.

Kel and Hero looked at each other and nodded as they jumped into the hole as well.

The next thing Hero knew when he opened his eyes was that he was in- “Is this Basil’s room?”

“I think it is…” Kel replied.

Omori seemed shocked to see the others before slipping quickly back into his neutral face. On the ground surrounding them were photos from the photo album from the real world. Each photo was scribbled out, making it difficult, yet not impossible, to decipher the scenes they show. 

It was an experience to see. Aubrey seemed more surprised than him and Kel as she bit her lip, almost like she was trying not to say something. He wonders what she is hiding. He will ask her later after they wake up.

On top of the carpet laid Basil’s photo album, laying wide open but blank for the photos were taken out. There was nothing else in the room to investigate anymore so Omori made the motion to follow him, opening the door and walking out.

Everyone followed Omori only to be back in Sweetheart’s Gallery. 

That was...concerning, to say the least…he should check on Sunny when he arrives in Faraway tomorrow. He also needs to check on Aubrey as well. How wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **H̴o̴w̶ ̴d̸i̶d̷ ̴t̷h̸e̶y̷ ̶f̸o̶l̸l̴o̴w̷ ̶y̶o̸u̵ ̶i̷n̶?̷ ̸T̶h̶a̶t̷ ̵s̵h̴o̶u̵l̸d̸ ̷b̷e̴ ̸i̵m̵p̷o̶s̷s̸i̸b̵l̸e̶.̷ ̵U̷n̵l̴e̷s̴s̷.̶.̷.̴I̶ ̴w̴i̷l̴l̵ ̸b̴e̷ ̵b̷a̵c̶k̸ ̶l̶a̵t̸e̵r̷.̵**


	20. Sweetheart's Castle pt3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> POV Change! A little bit of learning about Aubrey and how she is doing. Though, that misunderstanding might cause problems if you know what I mean~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me watching you guys bring up great Black Space ideas when I have some if not most of it planned out: o-o "why didn't I think of that..."
> 
> Ya'll are awesome, don't forget that :) this is a genuine smile lol.

When Aubrey first woke up in this whacky dream world she thought it was just going to be one of those weird dreams that reminded her of the past. It did do that, but it also did more. When she woke up after Basil disappeared she just thought it was a quick nightmare. Nothing more, nothing less.

Then the bet she made happen. The one with Kel and the Windows Downloader thing. The bet of ten dollars if he landed a hit that dealt a lot of damage. She jokingly said she would give him the money out of the dream world, thinking it would be funny handing Kel ten dollars with no context to him whatsoever.

Then he brought it up in conversation. Well, more like she brought it up in conversation as a joke, and then Kel randomly mentioned the bet out of the blue. Needless to say, she kept to her word and handed him the money but tried to convince herself that it was just a weird coincidence. Maybe Kel had a dream similar to her’s, she couldn’t simply accept they had the same dream.

The universe really wasn’t helping her at all by showing the dream creatures floating around Faraway. At that point, Aubrey really felt like she lost her mind. Perhaps it was just her being exhausted, after all, wouldn’t you be if you saw the dumbest person you know hold up a knife?

When she fell asleep that night she actually felt relieved that she could prove to herself that last night's dream was just a weird one-time thing. 

When she woke up she was back in that weird colorful room. Hero still had his eyes closed yet Kel looked at her with a grin.

He brought up the money again, and that is when she knew it wasn’t a coincidence.

~~~~~~

The next event to shock her was the Lost Forest. 

“T̷o̵ ̴t̴r̵u̷l̵y̸ ̸e̵s̴c̴a̸p̶e̸ ̸t̸h̷e̸ ̵p̵e̴r̴i̷l̵s̶ ̶o̷f̵ ̴h̵i̵s̸ ̴o̴w̷n̶ ̷f̴a̷c̴u̵l̴t̶y̸ ̷a̴n̴d̵ ̷a̷s̶c̵e̵n̴d̶ ̷t̴o̶ ̶a̵ ̸b̴l̶i̴s̵s̷f̸u̴l̷ ̴s̵t̷a̶t̷e̴ ̸o̴f̷ ̷i̶g̵n̷o̵r̸a̸n̷c̷e̷,̴ ̵o̴n̶l̷y̵ ̵t̸h̵e̵n̵ ̷w̷o̵u̸l̶d̷ ̶t̴h̴e̷ ̵n̷o̸i̵s̷e̸ ̵b̴e̶ ̷s̴i̶l̶e̶n̸c̷e̶d̴.̸ ̵S̵o̷ ̸t̵h̶e̶ ̶d̶r̷e̶a̶m̴e̶r̶ ̸c̸h̵a̶n̴g̶e̷d̷ ̵h̷i̷s̸ ̶n̶a̷m̵e̵ ̸a̴n̷d̴ ̷c̶h̷o̴s̸e̷ ̷t̸o̵ ̴f̸o̶r̶g̴e̸t̴ ̴h̵i̴m̸s̷e̷l̸f̵.̴ ̸”

It wasn’t hard to piece together who the “Dreamer” was from that line alone. Omori was Sunny and this was Sunny’s dream world. After all, Omori in this world was Mari’s little brother just going by a different name.

In all honesty, this actually made her concerned for Sunny. He changed his name and created this whole dreamworld, plus Kel in the real world said that Sunny was carrying a knife for some strange reason. Omori wields a knife so Aubrey wouldn’t be surprised if he brought it out for protection.

Protection from what was the question Aubrey didn’t know how to answer.

~~~~~~

When she jumped into the hole after Omori it was to make sure the group didn’t split up. After all, who knows what dangerous monster could have been hiding down there?

There was no monster, but what Aubrey saw shocked her more than any monster could. 

She was now in Basil’s room. His real room from his real house, not the Dreamworld version of it. On the ground are photos from his photo album that were covered in scribble marks covering up most of the details from the photos, though the photos were of them from the real world. Not the Dreamworld ones she saw from this world's Basil. 

His album was empty as all the other photos were gone. She felt her heartache. Wasn’t this Sunny’s dream? How would he know about the scribbled-out photos?

That is when she remembered.

A few days before Sunny became a shut-in he was staying at Basil’s place as his parents fought about what to do about him. What if Sunny saw Basil covering over the photos with the markers? It would make sense, after all, she saw Sunny sadder than when he left Basil’s house to return to his own.

It made her blood boil. She bit her lip not to yell out in anger at the idea. What if that is why Sunny became a shut-in? Because his best friend destroyed those precious photos. Then why would Sunny work with Kel get the album back to Basil? Probably because he felt pity for the boy, that’s why. Sunny always was a pushover.

Damn it. This was honestly beginning to piss her off. She hoped there were more enemies to fight and soon, otherwise she might snap.

Omori suddenly walked towards her and pointed to a random pot.

“What? You want me to break it or something?” She asked.

Omori nodded in confirmation.

“Why though?” Aubrey stared at him confused.

He simply shrugged.

“...Fine, only because I hate this place.” She agreed, walking up to a pot and readying her bat. 

She slammed it into the pot and immediately felt her anger lessen. Did Omori know she was upset?

Omori pointed to yet another pot and Aubrey smashed it. Turned out there were 30 clams inside it. Omori happily pocketed that. 

“Using me for the money, damn.” Aubrey joked to Omori.

Omori simply gave her a thumbs up in response.

“Yay! Property damage! Do you think I could break something with my ball?” Kel asked.

“I mean, you could try but I don’t think it would be strong enough. “ Aubrey pointed out. 

“Eh, still gonna try!” Kel grinned as he threw his ball at high speed to one of the pots. Instead of breaking it, however, it bounced off and hit Kel in the face.

“Pfff- HAHAHA!" Aubrey burst out laughing as Omori did a mini clap.

“OH, SHUT IT!” Kel yelled.

“Guys, please, by the time I wake up I am going to have a horrible headache.” Hero groaned.

“Sorry, Hero.” Kel and Aubrey apologized at the same time.

“Let’s get going, we don’t want to get caught…” Hero stated as they began to walk out of the gallery. 

Aubrey walked near Omori and whispered in his ear, “Thanks for letting me do that back there…”

Omori looked at her and for the first time, Aubrey saw him give a small smile before returning to his normal blank face.

A memory suddenly hit her.

~~~~~~

_Aubrey wasn’t feeling so good today. She doesn’t know why, her mood just feels bad. She hated it. Why is she feeling sad when there is nothing to be sad about? Emotions are weird._

_She was hanging out in the park by herself. Mari and Sunny were busy practicing for their recitals and Hero were studying. And Kel? She just didn’t feel like dealing with his energy today._

_This sucks._

_Or that was until she felt plastic be pushed against her hand. She turned around to become face to face with Sunny who was handing her a Lunchables._

_“Why are you here? Don’t you have practice?” She asked._

_“Finished.” He simply replied._

_“Why are you giving me Lunchables?” She stared at the container with confusion._

_“You, um, looked hungry…and a little sad...” Sunny mumbled._

_She stared at Sunny dumbfounded before letting out a giggle, “Thanks Sunny, I needed this.”_

~~~~~~

Sunny was always good at reading her emotions and being there for others. So seeing him still caring for her and the others, despite going by a different name and being in a dream world, made her happy.

The group began walking back to the lobby until they saw a sprout mole in their way. The sprout mole stood still staring their group down. Aubrey can smell a fight from a mile away.

“Stop, imposters! I know what you are...NOT SPROUT MOLES!” He yelled.

“Shit…” Aubrey whispered under her breath. She had a feeling this wasn’t going to be good.

“Hmph! You must be wondering how I can tell, you see, I am much higher than those Harolds and Marshas!” The mole laughed.

“I am Sir Maximus! With my impressive lineage, I will be victorious and bring honor to my family!” He bowed his head so his sword pointed at the group, “UNGUARD!” He charged at them.

The group managed to dodge right as he blew past them. 

“Gee! He is fast!” Kel pointed out as Maximus began swinging at them

“We know Kel!” Aubrey yelled as she swung at the mole.

The mole almost managed to dodge but she managed to hit him from behind and throw him at Hero who used his Baking Pan to whack him back to Aubrey.

Kel interrupted their game of throwing Maximus everywhere by hitting Maximus with his ball which made him land at the feet of Omori.

“No...I...Can not fail! My son needs me!” Maximus yelled as he jumped up and sliced Omori’s legs.

Omori didn’t like that so he tried to stab the mole who just rolled out of the way.

**Omori is angry!**

Kel once again threw his ball and hit Maximus. Aubrey joined in by hitting him from behind but not strong enough to send him flying like before. Omori ran forward and grabbed the mole, pinning him down and aiming to stab through the eye hole in the armor.

Before he gets the chance to do so, however, Maximus had one more trick up his sleeve. 

He began to rapidly slash at the group causing a ton of damage and even managing to turn poor Hero into toast. 

**Omori did not succumb.**

Omori managed to grab onto the mole yet again and Maximus tried to squirm his way out but it was too late. Omori was able to stab the mole and watched as he vanished from sight.

“...Well, that happened…” Aubrey muttered.

Omori might care for other people’s emotions like Sunny but he was ruthless when it came to battles.

He walked over to the flying piece of toast and whipped out some jam. He used his knife to spread it on the toast and Hero popped right back into existence.

“I...I still hate that…” Hero grumbled as Kel let out a tiny snort.

Omori made the motion for everyone to follow him and they headed into the lobby. They walked up the stairs and headed to the right. There were more statues and another door with a flamingo next to it. 

Omori, however, decided to ignore the flamingo and simply walk in with the others. Inside revealed a mini dining room. 

In the room was a group of moles with tiny chef hats surrounding another mole with a giant chef hat on a couch. 

“Urg, my dear sous chefs...I am afraid my back can’t take it anymore! I must announce my retirement because I can no longer deal with my conditions.” The mole complained.

“But, without you, who will lead us in our tasks of baking a most magnificent cake for the main event?” One of the sous chefs asked.

“Sous chefs, I believe in you! One of you needs to step up and take my place.” The chief stated.

“Yes, I understand chief! I will take over for you, don’t you worry a thing!” One of the sous chefs stepped up.

The sous chef that spoke up turned around and looked at Omori’s group.

“Hey, you four! You are now sous chefs! Meet me in the kitchen, pronto!” The mole commanded walking up the stairs.

Aubrey felt like they were going to be in for an interesting experience…


	21. Sweetheart's Castle pt4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cooking with moles and Hero!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO WAS ANYONE GOING TO TELL ME ABOUT MY TV TROPES MENTION OR WAS I MEANT TO FIND THAT OUT MYSELF???

The gang walked up the stairs leading to the kitchen and walked in where the Sous Chef was waiting. 

“Took you long enough! I almost died waiting for ya!” The mole complained.

“We literally followed you- you know what? Whatever…” Hero gave up trying to make sense of anything.

“Are you ready to start baking? Follow my instructions and we’ll make the best cake your eyes have ever seen!” The mole boasted.

The group turned towards Hero who just sighed, “Why me?” he asked.

“Cause you can cook.” Aubrey started with a shrug. 

“And is actually good at it,” Kel added.

Hero groaned to himself as he walked forward, “Alright, let’s begin…”

The Sous Chef grinned, “Sweet! First, put the oven at 75 degrees!”

“7-75? ...It is a dream Hero, of course, recipes aren’t like this in the real world you can handle this….” He grumbled, walking to the oven and putting it at 75.

“Alright, next you want to mix our two main ingredients into a bowl! Those ingredients are flowers and ping pong balls!” The Sous Chef instructed.

Hero stopped moving and just sort of stared into space. Aubrey can only guess how loudly Hero was screaming in his own head. She has a feeling that this place plans on personally targeting him.

Biting his lip, Hero began to move forward with determination in his eyes. Probably wanting to show this sprout mole that even if the instructions make no sense at all, he can still make an awesome cake. Though when he looked at all the tables giving the most confused look Aubrey has ever seen on his face. There were no flowers nor ping pong balls on them.

He walked over to the flour realizing that maybe the mole misread it and grabbed it before looking around awkwardly again. What the hell did this mole mean by ping pong balls? His eyes lit up as he looked at the eggs and that is when Aubrey understood as well. The dude was misreading the ingredients and they were going to have to guess by how things look.

He managed to bring them to the bowl and mixed them with a proud grin on his face. Most likely proud of himself for figuring it out. 

“You’re doing great! Next, come salt and cheese!” The mole praised happily.

“Salt…and cheese…” Hero sighed to himself. He didn’t see salt nor cheese while walking around so obviously, the mole just gave what he actually needed random names again.

He walked over to a bag labeled sugar realizing that it sort of looks like salt and picked it up and walked towards another table with butter on it thinking how that might be the cheese. He brought the ingredients over and put them in a different bowl. 

“Alright! Last ingredient! Grab the sauce and cut it into pieces!” The mole happily tapped its feet. 

“Sauce?” Aubrey could tell how much Hero wished to bash his head into one of the tables. She doesn’t blame him, though she is impressed with how Hero is able to find out the recipe. 

That is until she realized that the oven is probably going to be preheated wrong. Poor Hero is going to feel disappointed in himself once he realizes that. Oh well, it would be funny to watch so there is that. 

“Sauce….sauce….” Hero was making sure to look at all the ingredients on each table before his eyes landed on the strawberries. He picked them up and brought them to the cutting table, then realized he didn’t have a knife.

Omori, on the other hand, did have a knife. So Hero looked towards Omori who carefully handed Hero his knife.

“Thank you.” Hero quickly spoke before cutting the strawberries. After he finished cutting he made sure to give the knife back to his friend. 

“Now mix everything and put it in the microwave!” The mole finished. 

Hero inhaled and looked at the mole. Even though his mask covered his face, Aubrey could see the pain in his eyes. In fact, Aubrey could swear he looked on the verge of tears thanks to the mole's awful explaining.

Hero grabbed everything and mixed them in one big pan. The cake batter turned out surprisingly good! Hero looked at the batter proudly, “Silly mole, thinks I would fail at this because he can’t use directions properly.” he laughed to himself.

Aubrey pulled on his shirt grabbing the teen's attention.

“What?” He asked.

“The oven. Hero, you put the oven at 75.” Aubrey stated.

“...So? I don’t know why that would- OH MY GOD.” He realized what Aubrey was implying.

“Pfff, rest in peace Hero. Died by realizing he fucked up.” Kel whispered under his breath.

Omori looked at Kel, shocked that he swore. No one noticed this though as they were more focused on Hero.

“...I can’t believe I failed….” Hero looked like he wanted to die right there and then. Aubrey doesn’t blame him, the pain on his face makes her feel bad for pointing it out.

“Hey! What is taking so long? Put the batter in the microwave!” The mole shouted.

“...Sure, you know what, okay then. This is fine. I am fine.” Hero grabbed the bowl and walked to the oven.

He put it in and sat on the floor. Kel sat next to him and patted his back, “Dude it isn’t your fault bro. Think about this! You are going to give Sweetheart, someone you dislike, a messed up cake! She might even get food poisoning!” He whispered.

“Hhhh, Sweetheart might not even eat the cake anyway because it is bad though. Taste testers do exist Kel. This whole thing sucks…” Hero grumbled.

The oven bell ringed and Aubrey took it out for Hero, placing it on the counter. It looked like shit but that is probably because it is undercooked. 

“Ah! It finished! I shall be the first to taste it!” The mole jumped onto the counter and took a mini bite of the messed-up cake.

He died on the spot.

“HOLY CRAP, IT KILLED HIM!” 

Kel began to laugh his ass off as Aubrey joined him. 

“Hero, you just murdered a man, how do you feel?” Aubrey asked jokingly. 

“...good riddance.” Hero whispered under his breath, causing Kel and Aubrey to go Manic.

If they were paying attention they would have felt Omori’s fear and confusion at them reaching that type of emotional state.

“What is going on in- oh…” Another mole walked in to see Aubrey and Kel laughing over another mole's corpse as Hero shook his head in disappointment. Omori was too busy throwing out the cake to notice the other mole.

“You know what? I agree! Good riddance! The dude was a drag, and he had the worst memory ever. I don’t blame you for messing up the cake.” The mole spoke louder, gaining everyone’s attention.

“A-are you here to actually give me the correct information?” Hero asked the mole.

“Yep! Set the oven to 350 degrees. Trust me on this.” The mole stated. 

Hero walked to the oven and gladly turned the heat to 350 degrees.

“Awesome! Grab the eggs and flour and mix them into the first bowl.” The mole commanded.

Aubrey has never seen a man be so happy getting bossed around. Grabbing the eggs and flour again and mixing them into the bowl, Hero made sure to follow this mole's instruction with ease, especially since it was way clearer on what the mole wanted him to do.

Hero once again put the cake batter in the oven and watched peacefully as the cake baked.

The cake was put on the counter after it finished and the mole took a bite, seeming satisfied with it and Hero’s work.

“Now this is something Head Chef would be proud of! May his memory live on forever…” The mole praised the food.

“Why is it speaking like the Head Chef is dead?” Kel asked.

Aubrey and Omori shrugged, both not knowing how to answer that question. 

Was it just Aubrey or was Omori being on edge? Eh, it was probably her imagination. His face was still as emotionless as normal.

God, she was picking up Mari’s speech patterns.

“Servants! You are now free to go whenever you please! Be free from this cooking nightmare!” The mole stated.

Omori and the others nodded, slowly leaving the kitchen and waving bye to the mole. Omori pointed to the door in front of them and the group entered. 

The room led to a hallway with more rooms, lined up like apartment buildings. The first room had a sprout mole who was staring at a Sweetheart portrait with love in its eyes. The next room had Mari!

“There sure is a lot of Sprout Moles here, and they happen to love Sweetheart...a lot…” Mari sighed, “Honestly, it is quite concerning.”

“Tell me about it.” Hero sighed.

“I tried offering food to one of the moles and then she called me a peon and threw the food back at me…” Mari mentioned.

“W-” Kel looked shocked, “What a rude thing to do!” 

“Someone should teach these moles manners,” Aubrey added, agreeing with Kel.

“Sprout moles are weird, I think they know manners but just hate everyone.” Mari shrugged.

Aubrey agrees. They like to act fancy but when it comes to manners to regular people they definitely have a god-complex. 

“That would explain a lot. I swear we would be doing absolutely nothing and then get attacked by them.” Kel agreed as well.

Omori took a sweet strawberry from a bowl nearby and ate it as he silently watched the conversation. 

He has some questions. He will get answers...eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Ṫ̶͍h̶̛̩͒é̷͉̺y̶͉͗͆ ̷̆̎͜ç̴̯̈́̂̀á̵͕̤̮n̸͇̞͈͆͛̈́ ̴̖̠̱̏͆͝f̷̖̀͐ḛ̷̞͑e̶̙̦̿͊̾ͅl̷̤̮̎ ̵̤͓͕̅t̴̛͎̪̋̏h̸͉͇̺͋͌į̵̜̫̏r̴̼̗͊̍d̴͎̈́͋-̶̳̮͛͝ť̸̟̻i̶̯̅e̷̩͌̋r̴̰̪͎̒́̅ ̴̥̏̚͠e̵̛̫̎m̵͈̱͂͋ơ̷̜̬͆ṭ̷͋i̴͖̯͌o̶̰͖͙̔n̵̢̎̄͜ş̷̙̎͜?̵̤̹̅ͅ ̶̝̆͋͠ͅT̷͖̱̋ͅh̴̺̬̬̆ę̵̏͑y̴̭͝ ̸̣̋̊͜ș̷̈́̐h̶̭̟̄͆̃o̵̭̓u̸̢͓̺͛̌̌l̶̡̎d̴̜̩̓̽̾n̶̮̘̱͐̍'̵̲̱͂͝t̷͕̥͆̌ ̴̪̭́͠b̴̼̫̔͐̈è̸̢̡͔͌́ ̵̳̽a̵͍͑b̶̳̑̾l̵͛͜e̸̖̻͐ ̵͉̉͘͜t̸̪̯̆o̷̹̒́̎.̸͕͕̍̇.̷̛̠͉̍͆.̵̻̬̝͂ů̴̮̄̑n̷̙̳̞̏̋l̴͙͛͜͜ê̶̥̘̍̚s̸͈̽s̶̏͜͠.̴̩͈̐͜.̴͖͐.̴̖̳̤̌͊I̵̘͔̓ ̸͈̓ͅn̸̝̗͂̈ĕ̸͕̝e̸̟͌̎̓d̵͎͎̘͐̏̉ ̷̼̦͠t̷̼̼̺̾̈́̓o̴͇͌ ̸̖͖͑d̷̡̦͙́̈ǫ̵̳̜͐̅͝ ̷͔͠m̶͇̖͍̃̏͠ȍ̵̦͓̚͠r̴̨͎̆́ͅe̷̮͈̓̚ ̴̳͇̀̍̍r̵̡̧̛̈́̚ė̸͍s̵̤̗͔̑e̵̬̟̠̾͑̍a̷̛͔̦̎r̵͉͘c̵͕̒̎h̸̝͊.̸̢̩͛̇̄͜**


	22. Sweetheart's Castle pt5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helping a choir!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like these use to be longer...maybe I can try to make longer chapters but that could take a lot of time...what do you guys think?

They left the room Mari was in and went down another where two dressed-up sprout moles were talking. 

“Sors de ma chambre ou j’appellerai les flics!” A mole in a butler suit shouted at a mole in a maid outfit. He seemed angry for some reason. 

“Oh, Francois! I can’t understand a word you're saying but you are so dreamy!” The maid blushed, not catching on to the other mole's mood.

“Nice to know not every mole here wants to date Sweetheart…” Aubrey muttered. Also, wasn’t this Sunny’s dream? How does he know french? 

Maybe he didn’t spend four years doing anything after all. 

Hero suddenly looked like he was trying not to laugh which confused Aubrey until she remembered the high school in Faraway had a french class. She tugged on his shirt grabbing his attention, “What did the other mole say?” she asked.

“...” Hero leaned down to her height and whispered in her ear, “Get out of my room or I'll call the cops.” 

“PFF-” Aubrey tried to hold back her laughter. This does feel like something Sunny would laugh at. 

Omori looked at them before letting out a light sigh. He then walked out of the room with a highly confused Kel who doesn’t know why they are laughing. Aubrey and Hero followed behind, still slightly laughing at the poor mole's unfortunate situation.

They moved to the top of the hallway and found a black fuzz in a cage. Omori looked over to Aubrey almost immediately, asking her to break open the cage. 

She nodded with slight hesitation and readied her bat. It was the least she could do after Omori calmed her down in the gallery, though she had to wonder if there was going to be another hole under this one. She hoped not, she doesn’t know how she would react to another room like the one she saw.

She smashed the cage open with ease and Omori gave her a thumbs up in approval. He grabbed the fuzz excitedly but then proceeded to look down in disappointment. Ah, not a good one.

“Guessing it wasn’t a good fuzz, wasn’t it Omori?” Kel asked curiously, saying what Aubrey was thinking.

Omori gave a short nod as Aubrey took note that there wasn’t a hole where the fuzz was. Maybe only good ones had the hole? Then why didn’t the others in the past have holes...this was confusing her, maybe they’ll get more answers sooner.

“Well, there is always next time Omori.” Hero stated, trying to lift his mood. Aubrey could tell by his voice he was wondering the same as her.

Omori gave a bigger nod at that.

“That’s the spirit! C’mon, we got more things to do!” Kel proudly brought up.

The group made their way out of the area walking back into the lobby. They walked downstairs and made their way to the right, walking down yet another long hallway.

“Why is this place so bigggg...” Kel groaned.

“To annoy you and specifically you.” Aubrey joked. 

“Feels like it…” Kel actually agreed. 

It honestly felt like they have been here for hours. She hopes she isn’t sleeping the whole day away, she promised Kim and the others that she would bring them to a neat spot only she knows about. (Well Kel, Basil, Hero, and Sunny know about it as well but they don’t count.)

They walked a bit ahead until they reached an area that had a pretty strange statue. Aubrey squints her eyes, realizing how familiar it looked until it hit her.

“Hey, isn’t that Pluto?!” She pointed to the ‘statue’.

Turns out it wasn’t a statue cause the moment Pluto was recognized he jumped through the roof.

“Huh. Guess it was.” Hero muttered, looking at the hole he left.

“I like Pluto, he’s cool.” Kel grinned brightly.

“Of course you like him…” Aubrey groaned. Weirdos...

The group walked into a doorway leading them into a ballroom. At the top of the room were a whole group of sprout moles and some instruments. 

“Ten dollars we need to help those guys.” Aubrey betted.

“Why make a counter when I know you're right?” Kel let out a small laugh.

“You guys better help me this time. I did do the last two ya know…” Hero mumbled.

“Fineeee...” Kel groaned.

The group made their way forward and met with a sprout mole with gray hair. He was clearly the conductor of the other moles.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This won’t do at all! You, center left! You call that singing?” The mole yelled at the others, “My cousin's plastic flamingo can sing better than you!”

“Back row! Stop dozing off during the chorus! Pull yourselves together or you could end up in the dungeon!” The gray-haired mole sighed to himself.

“Hey, guys! Need a hand?” Kel walked forward, making sure to keep his word to Hero, “We already helped two groups, what is one more?”

“Really? You think you can help us?” The mole asked.

“Yeah! We are practically professionals!” Kel beamed.

“Professionals? Thank goodness! We need this choir ready before the event but we don’t have enough time!” The mole complained, “You see, we moles become tired when we listen to music so the choir keeps putting themselves to sleep! At this point, we would need to find other methods to keep them awake…”

“Hmm, I see…” Kel trailed off, “Alright fellow sprout mole! I have a plan!”

“I’m scared…” Aubrey muttered.

“Same here…” Hero nodded.

“Hey! I heard that! My plan isn’t bad at all!” Kel stuck out his tongue.

“Alright, let’s hear it…” The mole looked at Kel expectantly.

Kel bent down and whispered to the mole who nodded along with every word Kel said.

“Hmm, alright! I can do that! I shall get the guards to bring some!” The mole ran off.

“What did you say?” Aubrey asked.

“I asked to throw food at them.” Kel gave a small laugh.

“W- How would that keep them up?” Hero asked.

“Wouldn’t you wake up if I threw food on your face?” Kel jokingly asked.

“...Fair point.” Hero sighed.

“This is going to be so stupid…” Aubrey muttered.

Guards appeared carrying baskets of tomatoes with the swords attached to their heads. Gently placing them down in front of the choir and standing on the side. The gray-haired mole rushed up to Kel with a grin, “I was able to set up everything as planned!” he panted.

“Neat! Y'all can begin singing now! Try your best to stay awake or tomatoes will be thrown at your face!” Kel laughed.

The moles began to sing in their best harmony and already were some dozing off. Kel grabbed the tomatoes and began chucking them at the moles who would wake up startled, yet still singing. This went on for a minute until Kel’s arms felt like they were dying.

“Guys! A little help please?” Kel asked the others as more moles fell asleep.

The others ran forward, grabbing tomatoes and joining in on throwing them.

Aubrey wouldn’t say her aim was shit but Hero was doing worse than her so there is something. Omori on the other hand was definitely rivaling Kel on his skills.

“Ah! This is definitely a better improvement than what it was like before!” The gray-haired mole spoke up, stopping the singing.

“Neat! Do you think it is good enough for performance?” Kel asked.

“Yes! This would do just fine! Thank you, fellow moles!” The gray-haired mole nodded happily as the guards dispersed. 

The group walked away from the choir and down the stairs to see moles now practicing their dances.

“Huh. Nice thinking for once Kel.” Aubrey gave a thumbs up.

“I know. I am the coolest- hey wait, what do you mean for once!?” Kel yelled.

“Not now please…” Hero silently begged.

Omori simply watched the group. Once again, Aubrey felt like he was acting off but still couldn’t tell why. He wasn’t doing anything weird nor was anything weird happening.

Maybe she is just paranoid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Ţ̵̱̱͖͎̍̒̐͜͝h̸̩͙̉̏͒ȩ̴̥̫̗̠͑y̶̯͍̒̇͝ ̷̝͍͋͊̔͝͝a̶͉͕͌́r̵̪̝̒̀͋̇̒̈́ę̷̨̗̞͉̏̑͊͂̍ ̵̙̰̗̥̣͉͌́͛̐r̵̞̤͎͓̝̅͌̄ë̶̳́̀̓͌͝a̷̮͑̔͛̎̚͝l̴̩͇͚̮̈́̍̓.̴͖̺͚͓͔̬̉̚͘͝ ̴͕͎̺͎̉͐̈́͛̄͜͝T̶̢̺̃͑̎͗̕ḥ̶̹̻̩͇̼̕ḙ̵̜̼͍̪͐̈́̓͊̍̍ẏ̴̺̈́͊̍̇ ̷̙͕̯̈́͂̚ͅa̵̳͕̾͜r̷̡̥̲͛͑͜ͅẻ̴͕̥͉͗̚ṇ̶̮̖͙̩̃̎͐̕'̴̛̞̩̘̘͌̈́̾̽͝t̷̛̼̊̅̈́͠ ̵̭̊f̵̧́͂̌͌̈́̕r̶͚̓̚̕ǫ̵̣̼̤̦͑̊͊͌̈́͘m̵̢̻̘̄͗̈͆̿͘ ̶͚͕͙̫̘͙͒̇̄͘ḧ̴̨͉͍̬̿͂͌͒̓ȋ̵̙̫̩͚͉̇s̵̭͚̦̟̀ ̸̩̱̖͙̊̎̐m̸̨͕͈̯̀̄i̵̦͋n̸̻̑d̴̬̀̎̿.̵̡̣͇̪͙̖̒̿̍ ̴̲̼̺͙͖̘͌̂͊͝.̵͇͆̐.̶͇͓̅̉̿̕.̶̡̛͉̞̜͐Ȋ̶̞̥̥̲̜͋ ̵̮̈b̵̖̈̏e̷̛͕̟͑̾̊͝͝t̴͔̤̗̽̍͑ ̸̢̮͖͕̳͋͘͝t̶̮͘ḧ̵͎̦́͝i̴̭̿̏̒̕͝s̸̤̈́̿͝ ̴̨̛̻̹͔͕͎̎̿̕͠i̵͔͗̋ͅs̵̨̡̡̤̫̈́ ̵̠͉͋̌͑̈́͜ṭ̵͉̓̉̄͊͝ẖ̷̖̙̈͒͑ḙ̷̡͙̩͈̔̆̃ḯ̵̞͊̉͊͝r̶̪̥͊͘ ̷̡̢̜̭̰̿f̵̡̛̳͇a̴͓͓̭̲̻͐̑ű̷̜̘̀̓̔̕͝l̷̳̖̗͚̊̏̇̕̕t̷̐̅̃͆̕̕͜,̸̮̞̺̟̈́͋̋̄ ̴͖̎̈́͂͐͝i̷̜̥͚̻̇̽͋ͅs̸̺̩͔̦̻͗ṋ̸͙͚̞̎̽'̶̭̾̆͂̇͒͛ț̸͙̪̮́̓̓ͅ ̶̫͓͛͑̋̈́̓ĩ̶̧̠̟̠̑͆t̸̠͋́.̷̟̜̩̹̀̇͌̓̚͝**


	23. Sweetheart's Castle pt6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fighting Maximus 2 and finishing the chamber!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided on keeping my updates normal.

They left the ballroom and met face to face with...Sir Maximux? Didn’t they kill that guy a while ago?

“Stop imposters! I know what you are and it isn’t sprout moles!” Same beginning line as well...did he come back from the dead? Ugh, how annoying.

“You must be wondering how I can tell! You see, I am the fabled son of the legendary warrior, Sir Maximux!” The mole let out a huff, “You may have killed my father but I am better than thine! With my lineage and father by my side, I shall reign victorious!” 

Oh, so it is his son! Well, now she just feels bad for killing its father, even though it was in self-defense. 

The mole readied its sword and ran at the group in full charge, managing to scratch Kel’s leg.

“Ow! Hey!” Kel yelped in pain. 

Hero rushed forward and began trying to beat the mole with his Baking Pan as it was able to take most of his attacks head-on.

The mole simply attacked back, once again leaving scratches on everyone's legs. 

Sun- she means- Omori ran towards the knight with a knife in-hand, rapidly slashing at it causing its armor to break. Kel was able to aim his ball perfectly at one of the cracks in the armor causing pieces to fall off.

“No! My defense!” The mole jumped back from Omori.

Aubrey rushed forward and thwacked the mole right in the area where most of the armor broke.

The mole landed on his feet and sighed, “Time for my special attack!”

The mole slashed around at everyone violently. This time instead of Hero becoming toast, it was Kel.

“Kel!” Hero yelled.

“Omori! Give me the jam! I’ll revive him!” Aubrey offered.

Omori nodded and threw the jam at Aubrey as he and Hero charged at the mole with anger in their eyes.

Aubrey quickly opened up the jam and used her finger to spread it on Kel. Luckily she didn’t need to use much of it before Kel appeared again.

“Ugh! I hate being toast!” Kel complained.

“Yeah, yeah,” Aubrey licked the rest of the jam off her finger, “Come on, we’re still in battle!”

Kel nodded and ran forward with Aubrey to rejoin the group, who were chasing down Maximus the Second. The poor knight looked tired as he turned around to stare at the group. The defeat was in his eyes as clear as day.

It was time to finish him off.

“Everyone! Go at once!” Hero yelled and everyone nodded in affirmation.

 **OMORI slashed at it!**

**Kel picked the mole up and threw it at Aubrey**

**Aubrey hit it! Home run!**

**Before it could land, Hero hit it from behind! Right in the heart!**

Sir Maximus the Second didn’t stand a chance against them, thus disappearing leaving only his armor behind.

“Gee, we are really ending this dude's whole bloodline, aren’t we?” Kel jokingly asked.

“I mean- unless he had a kid, we should be fine.” Hero shrugged.

Once the group entered the lobby they all paused.

“Don’t we have one more place we need to go?” Kel asked.

“I mean- we could wait for the crowd to disperse.” Hero pointed to the crowd that convinced them to go another direction than that one.

“There could be something in Sweetheart’s chamber though we could use…” Aubrey pointed out.

“True, like, what if she had a hidden key that led to a secret area!” Kel grinned.

“So Sweetheart’s chamber it is?” Aubrey asked.

“Yep, let’s get going…” Hero sighed as the group made their way up the stairs and to the left. 

Surprisingly only one single guard is guarding the hallway. They were easily able to knock it out and calmly wait for the elevator.

Once they entered the elevator they pressed the button that would lead them to the chamber.

“Alright, is everyone ready?” Hero asked as the elevator was heading up.

Everyone nodded and the elevator doors opened.

The first thing they noticed was the giant Sweetheart Statue. The next thing to notice was the Captain Spaceboy statue nearby. It was shiny and looked really expensive. 

“Huh, despite treating him like dirt she liked him enough to build a whole statue. I am honestly getting so many mixed signals that my head hurts.” Hero groaned.

“I don’t blame you, figuring things out isn’t easy…” Kel sighed.

Aubrey was the first to notice the sprout mole next to Spaceboy’s statute. It almost seemed like she was trying to push it.

“Huff...huff...huff...Huh? What are you moles doing here? Common moles aren’t allowed here! You know the rules!” She scolded.

Hero opened his mouth but the mole continued talking, “Actually, hold on, I could use help…”

“Oh! Well-” “How about this! If you help me, you get to take anything from this room! I won’t snitch!” The mole grinned while cutting off Kel.

“Neat, I’ll help.” Aubrey shrugged.

“Really! Oh, thank you so much!” The mole happily tapped its feet. 

“So, what do you need help with doing?” Aubrey asked.

“I need to get rid of this Space Ex-Boyfriend statue but this thing won’t move at all! Sometimes I wished I had those weird hand things I see other species with so I could just smash this thing into bits!” The mole complained.

“...I have hands. I could smash it.” Aubrey pointed out.

“Really!? Oh, this is very good! Please, do destroy it!” The mole smiled, “Cleaning is much easier than moving!”

“Alright, here we go!” Aubrey took out her bat and spun it around a few times, readying herself to swing.

And she would have swung if it wasn’t for the fact the statue fell apart without being touched.

“...H-Huh?” Aubrey stuttered in surprise. Guess she was wrong about the statue being expensive. 

The mole gasped happily, “Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now I can clean this up with ease!” 

Everyone watched as the sprout mole moved on top of the destroyed statue and basically absorbed the statue into her skin with a proud smile on her face.

...That was terrifying. 

“You all are lifesavers! Now if you excuse me, I need to grab the new statue!” The mole ran off happily.

The group waited for a few moments before the mole came back, carrying the statue using only its head.

“Well, this is a surprise! Turns out I needed to lift from the bottom!” The mole laughed, “Y'all can start stealing now, remember I ain’t no snitch!”

The group nodded and looked around the room a bit, each of them doing their own thing. 

Hero found a balcony and a tea recipe. Kel took a bite of cake that teleported him somewhere, though he came back with Life Jam Packs, which are easier to spread than the jar version. Aubrey found a crystal ball and read some awful poetry as Omori fell asleep on Sweetheart’s bed.

“Omori! Wake up!” She lightly tapped him with her bat. 

Omori got up slowly, looking saddened that his nap was interrupted. He got out of bed only to trip on a body pillow on the floor. 

“Pfft- Omori are you okay?” Aubrey helped the poor boy up, holding back a laugh.

He nodded in response. Seems like he is okay.

“Good, so I guess that's it huh? We should have done this first, would have been way easier…” Aubrey groaned.

Omori nodded in agreement this time.

“Alright guys, if you think we looked everywhere, let’s get going in case Sweetheart decides to appear.” Hero stated, motioning the group to follow him to the elevator.

They walked into the elevator and pressed the button, lowering them back into the hall they previously walked through.

“I swear to god if there is another Maximux I will-” “Stop imposters! I know what you are, and you are not SPROUT MOLES!” Sir Maximux the Third shouted out, interrupting Kel.

“Not again…” The whole group sighed. Another battle it shall be.

~~~~~~

...What was he looking at? Why is everything so bright and pink? It hurts to look at it after being in that dark void for so long…

Wait...was that? It was! It was the group he saw at the beginning of it all! Hero, Kel, Aubrey, and that weird black and white Sunny!

Why were they fighting a knight? Seems to be talking about something with its bloodline. How odd. Did he somehow escape? He didn’t hear that voice anymore, so perhaps he did?

He walked forward, “Hey, guys?! What are you doing?!”

No-one turned around to look at him, where they were focused in battle? The knight seemed to barely be moving though, only doing light slashes as if they were tired.

“Guys?” He still called out to them.

Still no response. Perhaps he should talk to him after the battle? They did seem busy...

Reality seemed to freeze. Everyone stopped moving including the knight.

“G-guys!?” He ran towards Sunny.

Sunny turned around but no one else did. Everyone was stuck like they were playing a game of freeze tag.

“Ý̵̛̺̼̀ò̷̄͜ŭ̷̢͖́̈̚ ̷̧̰̪͔̬̌̕͜ȃ̴̧͚̥̫̜̰̇̊͊̾̔r̴̘̩̭͚͉̀ë̵͔͉́n̸̨̛̪̙͖͔͕̈́͐̿̕'̸̬̂̽t̸̢̠̬̻̪̀̀ͅ ̴̧̙͔̼̯̂̈́̅ͅs̷̰̍̈́ű̸̧̼̗͈͕̈́̂̓p̵̡͇͚͚͋͘p̴̳͆̓̎o̴̝͓̖̐̿̓s̶̼͈̒̈̀e̵̖͓̱̐̄d̵̛͙̈̍̔̿̓ ̶̨̫̞̜͈̿̆̓̊̔t̸̺̪̗͌͜o̴̧̢̢̡̭̝͆͊̒ ̵̝̲̥̆̓b̴̨̤̟̼̉ȩ̴̯͍͖̬̅̈́̃̓̚͠ͅ ̶̨̞̰̯̤̠̓͝h̷̭̟͈̓͛̏̒̃̓ệ̸̡̤̱́͜r̵̢͎̐̒͂̎̔ę̴͈͈̾.̷̮̀ ̷̢͉̭̞̬͌̅̎͆̅͗ͅG̶̝̻̗̦̿̇ͅo̶̍̾̏̚ͅ ̷̖͈̩̙̟͗̑̃͛͘͝b̸̟̱̺̩̹̈́a̶̡̦̽̇̇͝ç̵̳̯͉̓͜ͅḳ̶̡̨̨͔̘̐̾̒̋̕.̵̫̏̓” Sunny warned.

“H-Huh? B-But if I go back-to-the voice! Sunny! The voice! It will torture and-” 

“N̶͖̗̲̈̐o̷̳͕͎̝̥̹͑̏̈́͗̿̚.̷̣͎͎̖̆̾̈́̎͐ ̷̬̙͖̯͋̿Ġ̸͉̪̽o̸̧̢̧̳̯͕͆̆͝ ̵̖͔̝͕b̴͙͎̺̰̌̿͘̚͝à̴̤̩̖̰̞̋͜c̴̢͚͔̠̓̍k̷̻̊̿̃̅ ̵̨͕͖̜͇̣̒̃̔o̵̝͍̟̦͘͠r̴̮̻͗ ̶̞͚̱̰͐̎̋͊d̷͍̮͚̿̌́ĩ̶͍̟̺̬̈͒̆ȩ̵̛̫͔̱̣͙̍̓̉͠ ̸͎̝͔̉͜b̶̤̼͙̒͌̏̄̃̀y̶͖̰̥̩̜̑͗̈́ ̶̛̑͒́͜ͅm̸̟͓̋͋͂y̷̥̱̩̽͒͠ ̷̲̞͎͊͒h̶̢̢͎̣̒͂̄̉̃a̴̛̦͉͍̲͊ñ̴͙͒̍͌̿̚d̶͙̫̜̰̆͐͂͑͘ṣ̴̟̮͙̳͖͒̓̒.̶̖̥̱̱́̓̈́͘” Sunny stared Basil down as everyone else slowly turned their heads. Their eyes were gone and mouths gaping wide open. Sunny pulled out a knife and grinned wickedly. 

“G-guys!?!” Basil began to back away.

“H̴̏͂͛͜ḝ̸̥̦̰̖̈́̾͊̚r̴͇͎̣̅͂͋̈́̊̕ǫ̷͕͛̊͜ ̴̖͖̘̘̘̆͂̓̓̎̄l̸̢̛͉̪̤̼͙̊̄̄̿̐o̷̭̭̙̯v̶̢̧̟͈̓͒̌é̶̼̥͙͍̌̿̽̊ḏ̵̨͉͉̦̿̄ ̴̮͎̩͚͙͂̒h̷̺̺̗̊͐͝e̴͔̲̿̈̐̈́̕ŕ̵̯̝̗̘̦͍ ̶̱̘͓̝̏́͂͘ḁ̸̺̘͒͜n̷̩͖͕̼̠̆̑d̷̲̭̯̣̙̖̽͑̈́͋ ̷̰̗̘̫̅̄̉̈́y̷̘̼͔̺͌ŏ̸̬̦͍̃̈́̐ͅų̴̜̪͍͎̹̇͘ ̸̨͙͓̫̫̎̅̔̏͋͝h̴͉̹̅̈́̈́a̸̢͋̑͋̈͊n̷̬̱̊͛ğ̷̜̭̯̙̣̆́̒̊e̴͙͇̱͂͊̇̇ḑ̷̣̽ ̷̜̯͇̃̀h̸͚͇͆̉ȩ̷̯͖̩͑r̶̳̯̈́̍̐͐́͝.̸͔̉̀ ̶͙̠̻͆̆͜Ą̴͍͌̈́̒͂u̸͙̒̋̅̉b̷̢͚̞̠̫͗̈́̌̆͌͜ŕ̵̢͔̟͚̚ẻ̸̡͔͖̜̬̔́̍y̸̛̙͇̘̜̹͋̓ ̴̨̤̙̤̟̒̄͑̾l̴̫̗̮̬̮̾̃͋͘͘ǫ̷̗̳̜̗̣͑̿̿v̸͖̬̺̪̪͝͝ë̷̜̙̣̦̯́́͐͜͝d̵͖͉̘̥͋͌ ̶͖͒͋h̶̼̙͂̅̂ḙ̴̮̜͙̱̌͊́̾̕̚r̸͉̼̞̣͉̚ ̵̛̺͙̣̃̇̅̊͝a̸̡̨͎̩̹̟͗̌̕͝͝ṅ̸̺̬̑̕͜d̴̤̗͔̣̰̞̐̈́̓ ̸̝̖̹̰̈́͊͑ỹ̴̘̺̪͓̰̿õ̴̭̳̯̳̐͜u̴̧̖̻̭̣̲͑̆͐̽̓͠ ̵̢̠̙͆̄͘ḫ̸͜͠ã̶̙̃͒͠n̶̯̭̗̻̘͊̓͜g̵̗̠̙̭̈́͌̋͋̎̕ͅe̸̪̠͔͋̃́͑́͝ḓ̷̼̙͖̈̑̆̕ ̴̹̦̜͍̩͚̀͒̊̔̀̕h̷̺̽̌ͅe̵͎̯͌̅r̷͕̙̺͙͉͋͐ K̴͎̟͇̪̣͈̓̕̚ȩ̴͕̂͜l̴̰̞̽͋͛̕͝ ̶͚̺͂̓̊͠l̴̥̄̊̆͠o̶̞̼̒̕ͅv̶̘̤̏͐̆̔e̶̋ͅd̴͉̯̞̦̝̈ ̶͇̇͜ȟ̶̋͜ĕ̵̲̺r̵̡͓̝̘͖̅ ̴̼̍͝ā̶̲͓͔̿n̷̝͕̼̆̇́́̓͜͜͝d̵̹̒̐͜ ̸̢̺̓̊y̵͔̹̖̔̃͆o̸̫̼̳̪u̷̙̗͇͠ ̶͍͇͙̻̠̌̅͌h̶̢͕̗̥̖̪͗̑a̷͇͈͔̕͠͠͠n̵̛̲̖̽͒͐͝ģ̸̳̹͝ẽ̷̮͉̻͐̚͜d̷͖̲̈́̽͂̊̀̕ ̸̛͉̙̲̬͌̂͘͠ͅh̶͓̲̯͠e̷̳̪͔̪̺͊̿̎r̵̹͉̮̙͐.̵̙͔̈͑.̶͖̟̥̘̫̼̌̄͊̈͠” They began to chant. Though instead of it just sounding like four voices, it sounded like a full theater room, chanting the same line over and over again.

“I DID IT TO PROTECT SUNNY!” Basil shouted over the voices.

“S̵͍̬͊u̴͚̅͑n̵͕͑n̸̦̹̋y̷̧̝͗̄ ̴̥͑͛w̷̺̥͌ã̵͍s̵͇̬̏̓ ̸̝̱̔̈p̴̢̖̌ȅ̴̟̫r̶̖̓f̵̪̺̀ē̶̺c̶̡̻̄ṱ̶̖͒ĺ̵̩̻̚ÿ̸̪́ ̵̙͘f̵̯͉̑͠i̶̯̓̌n̸̖͈̑e̷̮͌.̸̡̪̍ ̶̖̉T̶̨̫́̋h̵̲͕̃e̵̢̐̂y̵͉̋̂ ̷̦͉̑̿w̵͈o̴̝̩̅̕u̴̩͔͌͝l̶̤̱͂͘ḋ̷̙̻ ̶̨̍h̶͕̙́ä̷͓͉́͝v̵̠̜́̈́ẻ̴̜̟ ̵̬̕u̶̡̮̚n̴͉̔d̵̨̳̋è̶̦̥͛r̸̘̽̇ͅs̵̼͐͠t̶̜̓̽ő̷͈̻̐o̷̘͋͠d̴̗͋ ̴̦͂͒i̴̠̔ţ̶͕̊̃ ̸̤͕͊b̴̥̠̒͝e̷̛̞i̷͈̔ṇ̶̡̿̚g̷̛̳͉̈ ̴̦̏̀ą̵̺́͊ǹ̴͕̀ ̴̩͋ä̷̹c̸̬̿̌c̴̝̳̉̚i̸̦̭̋d̷͙͉͐ę̸̊̊ṉ̷͠t̸̩̟͋̌.̵͔̞̈́̑ ̸̼͛͋T̸̲͈̑h̶͓͔̐̈́o̶͓͙̕u̵̳̔̓g̴͎̑ḩ̷̈́ ̵̩̙͠y̶͓͋̓o̶̩͉͘ṳ̵̜̓ ̵̛̪ḧ̶̩́̈́à̶̬͎̔d̶̝͉͂͒ ̵̳t̸̻͗o̵͔̩͋ ̸͙̺͛h̴̜̟̊ȁ̶̭͔ņ̸̓̅g̷͍͘ ̷̟͠ḩ̵̉e̴̟͇̕̕r̴̺ ̴̩̣̓̂a̵̲͚͆͘n̵͍̙͐̅d̷̖̎ ̷̜͊͘ḓ̴̛e̸̗̓c̷͙̞̋̏ê̸̡̞̆i̸̗͋v̷͙̙͐͊e̴͚̳̽͆ ̸̻̚t̸̘͝h̶̩̠́̏ẽ̸̤̣̆m̶͇̻̿̚ ̶͈̔̆ͅf̷̰̱͛͋ö̷͙́̈́r̵̔ͅ ̵̛̛̺s̵͈͋o̷͉̲̐ ̶͍̊͝l̵͖̥̐ȯ̸̬͇n̴̺̉ġ̷̼.̸͕̣͝ ̵͖͓̏T̴̜̂h̶̢͕̏ȅ̴̢͋ ̶̛͇p̸̄̋͜ä̵͍̮́͂i̶̢̛̗̿n̴̖̚ ̷̹̪y̵͎̦̽ŏ̵̻̱ú̴̩ ̶͕̫̒b̶̩͖̏r̶̗͖̿̈o̷̧͝ũ̸͕͕̎g̵͚̥̐h̴̠̔͠t̸̠̖̽͗ ̶͍̿͜t̶̬̫͌̉h̶̺̿ȇ̸̜m̶̤͍̄͝ ̶̪̭̐f̸̚ͅõ̵̩͌r̴͇̋ ̶̬̤̒̀m̵̨̃̅ḁ̸̹̉͝k̴̪̀i̴̟͕͂͠ṅ̸̨̰g̶͖̃̒͜ ̵̡̓̕t̵͍̥͋̇h̶̨͎̃e̷͔͝m̴̼̗͋ ̴̢̾t̵̥̭̓͝ḫ̷͇̚i̴͈͛̄n̴̓̓͜k̷̹͑̊ ̵͕̭̉t̶̗̱̎h̴̤̩̒ȩ̶y̶̻̐̚ ̷̪̽m̸̟̅i̴̦̽͝s̸̢͖̈͘s̸̨̪̑e̴̙̼̐͒d̶̬́ ̶̯̯̑̕o̵̢̦̿b̶̥̚v̴͎̦͋͠i̸̯͋͊o̴͓͐ư̵̳̂s̶̩͐ ̸̩̜͗̾s̸̲͔̈́i̵̪͔͛͝g̸̝̙̿̈n̴̠̓̚s̵̜̉̄ ̶͓̻̑͝ẇ̴̳͖i̸̛̤͐l̶̖̆l̸̼̏ ̴̼̞͐b̵̦̬̄̀e̴̝̘͂̇ ̸̼̑ě̷͈͉̈́n̵̩̄o̵͔͓͑̊u̸̢͗g̵̛̹̲ḣ̴̘̈́ ̶͚͔͋̌t̷̟͇̊̔o̶̹͑ ̵̟͋ț̴̍͐o̶͈͚͂͂r̵̦̭m̶̖̖͋e̸̜̓n̵̺̊̃t̴͓̐ ̴̩̉t̶̰̼̆h̶͔͕̓͊é̵̠̜m̴̫̌ ̸̡̿̓ḟ̸̘̲r̴͇͓͘o̶͈̙͠m̴͖͒̈́ ̵̖̯̓͠ȩ̶͋t̷̮̄̚ȩ̸̲͑r̶̭̹̋͛n̶̨̂i̷͔t̴̞̲̒ỳ̷̻̮̔.̶̧͌” Sun- no, Not Sunny spoke.

“T̶͎̐h̶̩͒̾e̶͚͐͆y̴̟̣͗̍ ̶̢̟̿͝w̶̦͠ǫ̴̯͗u̸̼̬̿̔l̵͈̟̆ḋ̴͓̺ ̷͎̿h̶̺̆a̶̢͓͘v̸͋̀͜ĕ̶̦̘ ̵̬͛ů̶̱͖̍n̵̦͊̒d̴̩̤̾̿e̴̬͈̓ŕ̵͍̈́š̷̻t̸̝̻̐̈́õ̴̥͓o̸͕̳͊d̴͉̒̕ ̵̢̀b̶̤̈́u̵͍̻̾ẗ̶̹̘́ ̸̧̮̋ÿ̸̼̩̐o̸̼̓u̵̗̎ ̵̗̂m̷͙̮̏̽â̶͍d̴̬ͅẽ̸͍͈̚ ̶͉͖ė̴͓͗v̵̢͔́̈́ȅ̸̳r̴͐̈́͜y̵̲̗̅̑t̷̰̿̑ͅh̷̰̃̽ĭ̶̱̜̈́n̶̨̮̍ğ̷̮ ̷̤̺̽w̵͖̐̈́o̴̥̪̍̆r̴̙̓s̵͕͊̅t̷̥̘̒͘.̶͕̀̐ ̷͍̤̔Ṱ̵̕h̶̭̿e̶̖̓̍͜ẙ̸̲̥ ̷̢̨̂h̶̖̦ḁ̴̓͋t̵͎͒̈́e̵̜̲̔̇ ̶̱̙y̸̺̱̋͝o̴̰͋u̴͚̯̒̑,̷̠̈́̇ ̸͆̈́͜B̷̧̐ä̶̼̖́s̷̺̽i̵͖͆̍͜l̵͉̙͊.̸̨͔ ̵̞̾E̷̠͌̏v̶̯̽͠ë̴̹̟́̆ṋ̴̈́ ̴̢i̴̝̣̍f̶̢̓̕ ̶̩̆ẗ̴̜h̶̹̤̾̉e̵͙̤͋y̶͕͑͒ ̸̺͗ḓ̶͔̒o̷̢̨̊n̴̦͋'̵̤͗͒t̶̜̯̕ ̸̠̝̄t̸̛̼̳h̴͎̑e̷̱̖̋y̷̟̦͒̾ ̶̥̌w̷̛͇̑i̷͂̏͜l̷̝̇l̶̻͆̿,̶̪͍̿̌ ̴̬̖̓̕y̶͕̲͆̕ọ̷̫̅̓u̶̜̅ ̵̦́̒s̸̠͆͝h̶͉͐ǒ̸̟̆u̵̹͙͛̕l̶̢̖̈́d̷̥̄ͅ ̶̘̓̽k̵̤͝ñ̷͍o̸̟̭̚͝w̴̱̤̽̎ ̸͙͆̎ṱ̸͑h̷̩͕̽̄ȁ̵͓̼t̸̞̚ ̵͔̠͑͑b̵̮̕y̴͔̞̏ ̷̣̺̊̎n̷̢̹̾̆o̵͖͘͝ẇ̵̨̛.̴͕͕́ ̷̙͈͂Y̶̰̲̍̂o̷͚̾ũ̵͖ ̷̚͜d̵̺̈́e̵͚͙͌s̴̮͓̆̑ę̸̏͠ṛ̷̈͌v̴̞̖̐̐e̴̎̍ͅ ̵͕̒͝t̶̜̥̂ö̸̥ ̸̰̓r̷̤̞͂̏o̶̹̐t̴̝͎̉ ̸̮͑ĭ̸̦͉ṇ̷͗̋ ̸̰̞̾̔h̸͓͛ḙ̷͑ḷ̶̡̓́ĺ̴͕.̷͕̕͝” Not Sunny looked down at Basil as he fell onto the floor with tears in his eyes.

“W-WAIT HOLD ON! PLEASE SUN-”

“S̷̥͑͌e̵̲͚̓e̶̺͗͝ ̷̱̭̈͘ý̶̢̧̍o̴͉͊͘ű̵̞̇ ̷̳͝s̵̫͑o̸̎̕ͅo̵̧̓̈́n̴̺͐,̷̢̝̐͝ ̸̛̩m̷̰͆y̸̤͝ ̵͕̤͛e̷̪̓͜n̴͕̥͐̈́e̶̮̎m̷̘͚̌ỳ̴̱̣.̵̲̔” Not Sunny sliced Basil’s neck, leaving him to bleed on the floor.

He woke back up in Black Space crying.

“I deserve this…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	24. Sweetheart's Castle pt7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey does thinking. At last, the whole group can get a breath of fresh air as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My head hurts. Owie.

You know, Aubrey wasn’t expecting to be turned into toast...again. It seemed life had different plans though. She should have seen it coming though with how both Kel and Hero turning into toast thanks to the Maximus bloodline.

Stupid Maximus bloodline. Oh well, now she needs to wait for someone to revive her. It is either going to be Hero or Omori, though she puts her main bet on Hero. During this fight, Omori seemed...spaced out? Was that the word? How you could be spaced out in your own mind is a weird concept to her but Sunny has always been strange.

…God it was boring in here.

Jee, they never took this long reviving Hero nor Kel. What is taking them so long now? Don’t tell her they didn’t notice.

_“I deserve this…”_

...What the fuck? Who was that?

_“I deserve it, I deserve it, I deserve it, I deserve-”_

A sob rang out. It sounded a lot like-

“Basil?” Aubrey whispered.

Of course, she was immediately revived as the words fell out of her mouth as if bringing up Basil’s name was forbidden where she was.

Upon coming back the group was still fighting Maximus the best they could. Kel whacks it with his ball, Omori slashing, and Hero making up items for the others to heal with. She couldn’t tell who revived her because whoever did was already back in battle.

Though, despite the battle going on her thoughts were still focusing on the voice she heard.

_“I deserve it.”_

It sounded like Basil. No, not sounded like, it was Basil. Then a thought hit her, one that she didn’t even think of.

If she is real, Hero is real, Kel is real, Omori is...Sunny and real, wouldn’t that mean that Basil was real and trapped somewhere?

...Okay now that is a scary thought to think about. She doesn’t know exactly how to feel about that. Part of her says “This is what you get for nearly destroying the album bitch!” the other half remembers what Basil said about how he deserves what is currently happening to him. What even is happening to him? Is he being tortured or something?

‘Ugh, brain hurts! Focus on the battle, Aubrey!’ she berated her thoughts.

She ran up to Maximus the Third and kicked the little shit out of one of Sweetheart's windows. She immediately regretted doing that as Maximus was wearing armor and she was barefoot.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Why did I do that!?” Aubrey yelled in pain. This is why she shouldn’t be allowed to think about things. She should leave the smart shit to Hero.

“Aubrey! Are you okay?” Hero asked.

“I KICKED METAL BAREFOOT HERO DO I LOOK OKAY!?” She shouted back, “JESUS THIS HURTS!”

“...Fair point.” Hero muttered.

Omori walked up to her and handed her a candy bar which she gladly accepted. Shoving it into her mouth the wound began to magically disappear. Thank you, video game mechanics that control Sunny’s head, for existing.

Letting out a sigh of relief she gave Omori a thumbs up, “Thanks…so which one of you revived me?”

“...You were knocked down?” Hero looked surprised.

“Uh, yeah, I was toast for a while…” She looked at everyone. Kel and Hero looked shocked while Omori just gave a stare.

“Let me guess, none of you revived me?” She asked nervously. They had to be kidding, right?

They all shook their heads no. If that is the case then how the hell did she come back? 

“First of all, gee thanks for noticing I was gone. Second of all...I don’t have a second of all, really guys? You didn’t notice me missing? I am hurt.” She pouted.

She lied though. She did actually have a second of all, but for some reason, she feels like it would be weird to bring up Basil out of the blue, especially around Omori. Nor did she want to get into a long theorizing talk with the gang on how the hell she came back without jam. Really, she just wants out of this place and to wake up.

Though she had her suspicions on how she came back without jam. Maybe if she got knocked down again, she’ll see if she can come back again. Perhaps it was a one-time thing, but that won’t stop her from trying it. After all, why would it bring her back after she mentioned Basil without something weird going on?

“Hey guys, the crowd in front of the doors dispersed. I think that is our sign that we can go now.” Kel pointed out.

“Oh, sweet!” Hero grinned at the good news.

Omori still seemed focused on Aubrey, more importantly, on how she got out of being toast. Aubrey noticed Omori.

“Dude, don’t worry. I am fine, let's just find our way out so we can continue looking for Basil.” She grabbed Omori’s hand and pulled him along.

Omori nodded, though clearly, he was still pondering on how Aubrey was able to get out of being toast. 

Oh well, they will cross that bridge when they get there. 

They opened the castle door to be greeted by a long hallway with flamingos standing in...weird juice? Aubrey didn’t know what it was and personally didn’t care.

Walking through another castle door the gang realized instead of being trapped in a castle, they were now in its garden.

Sprout moles were running ahead dressed in all pink, to where they couldn’t tell.

“...Well, at least we are outside!” Kel grinned.

“It is the tiny things that count I suppose…” Aubrey sighed.

“C’mon, let’s begin looking around. Probably a trapdoor or something laying about.” Hero stated.

The group nodded in agreement before marching forward. In the garden there was a big Sweetheart statue in the middle, staring down at anyone who walks in front of it.

Omori and the gang stood in front of the statue whose gaze seemed to land on them.

“If I were hiding an important trap door, I would hide it under a statue.” Kel pointed out.

“Okay, but how do we move it?” Hero asked.

“...Aubrey-” “If you think I could break that you are dead wrong.” She stated with a sigh. Sometimes it feels like she has the only brain cells here.

Omori tapped the statue causing it to shake violently, “WHAT’S THE PASSWORD!?” It boomed.

Ow! Why does everything want to cause her pain today?

A little pad came out of the statue and was placed in front of Omori. 

It had multiple options to choose from. “Magical,” “Flaming,” “Romantic,” “Beautiful,” “Other:____,” and “Nevermind.”

“Uh, romance? Romance seems to be Sweetheart’s style.” Kel stated.

“Yeah, I say romance as well…” Aubrey agreed.

Hero also nodded at romance. Omori clicked it and the question changed.

“And~?” Sweetheart’s statute teased.

More options appeared. “Planet,” “Flamingo,” “Mole,” “Pineapple,” “Other:_____,” and “Nevermind.”

“Well, she liked Spaceboy right? Maybe she made the next word planet?” Hero suggested.

“True! Omori put down Planet!” Kel agreed.

Omori pressed the button, going to another screen with even more options. “Eating,” “Sized,” “Inhaling,” “Summoning,” “Other:______,” “Nevermind.”

“What are these questions…” Aubrey muttered.

“Okay, yeah, this is becoming weird.” Hero agreed.

“Should we go look for clues?” Kel asked.

“Yeah, Omori, press ‘Nevermind’.” Aubrey looked at the boy.

Omori nodded and pressed the button. 

“You put down, romance, planet, nevermind? …WRONG!” The statue yelled.

A giant red laser shot down from above, striking Omori at full force. The blow was strong enough to send Hero, Kel, and Aubrey backward. 

Once again the world decided seeing Aubrey in pain is hilarious.

**Omori did not succumb**

“JESUS CHRIST! OMORI ARE YOU OKAY?” Hero shouted in concern.

Omori was, surprisingly, still standing. He gave the group a thumbs up to confirm he is alright.

“Holy shit dude, do you need to heal or like, anything?!” Kel shouted.

Omori looked down a bit before shaking his head. Though he did seem angry at Kel swearing. 

Despite claiming he didn’t need healing, Hero walked over and gave Omori a cookie anyway. 

Omori sorta stared at him before wordlessly taking a bite of his cookie. 

Aubrey feels like this is going to be a good time...not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I deserve this..._


	25. Sweetheart's Castle pt8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting one piece of the password.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan to finish off this damn hedge maze next chapter...I might upload that today but idk. Probably won't since I am tired as shit but we'll see...

The group moved down from the giant Sweetheart statue and found a whole group of sprout moles holding axes in front of a bunch of vines with thorns. Walking up to one of the moles they decided to ask what was going on.

“We have to cut down these vines! Though they are going to be the death of me…” The mole complained. 

They walked forward to the vines and looked straight ahead. 

The shadow creature with one eye stared back.

Aubrey felt a chill run down her spine as Kel grabbed a rock off the ground and quickly chucked it at the monster. It disappeared almost instantly.

“God, that thing is so creepy…” Hero muttered.

This was their second time running into that creature here and Aubrey was growing hatred for it. Well, not like she doesn't dislike it already.

“Honestly...l-let’s go back to look for the password…” Kel muttered, clearly with something on his mind.

Aubrey kept silent though, she knew Kel would speak up about it sooner or later. After all, it is Kel. He can’t keep a secret for the life of him.

They walked through the top right hedges before spotting a platform Kel could stand on. Kel climbed up the platform and saw...nothing. Nothing for him to hit at all. 

“Huh, must be a way for them to see around the place.” Kel whispered to himself, “There is nothing up here to hit!” He yelled to the others.

“Huh, weird. Alright, we’ll continue up ahead.” Hero decided.

They walked up to another path with Omori leading the way and everything was going smoothly. That was until Omori walked in front of a mini Sweetheart statue that shot lasers out of its eyes.

“Jesus!” Kel shouted.

“Dude, are you okay?” Aubrey asked.

Omori gave a thumbs-up as Hero handed him another cookie he made. 

“We should make a challenge. Omori doesn’t get hit with lasers!” Kel joked around after he knew Omori was alright.

“We should head back, remember that platform Kel?” Hero reminded Kel.

“Oh, yeah! I’ll just knock down the statues! No problem!” Kel grinned as he ran back. A few moments later a rock crashed into the statue and another fell down nearby. 

“Nice job Kel!” Hero gave a supportive smile to his brother.

Kel smiled back before remembering something.

“Oh yeah, there is another statue blocking the path but I can’t hit it without getting closer. I think I saw another platform a bit back though, down another path.” Kel informed.

“Ah, alright, thanks for the heads up. Let’s go!” Hero nodded in understanding as he and the group made their way down another path that led to yet another platform for Kel to stand on. Kel got up and threw his ball at a Sweetheart statute.

“Hey, there is a mushroom over there! We might be able to jump over the hedge with it!” Kel pointed it out.

“Sweet! Fast travel.” Aubrey joked to Kel.

Kel laughed and got off the platform as the group made their way to the mushroom.

It was tall and suspicious-looking but it looked sturdy enough to get on. Before they could however Omori raised a finger up and walked to the mushroom himself.

He plucked a bit of the mushroom off and proceeded to shove it in his mouth.

“Didn’t I just give you a cookie?” Hero asked as Omori shrugged.

“Dude, really- Oh my god!” Aubrey shouted as she realized Omori taking a bite out of the mushroom led them to a new location.

In the middle of the room, there was a hole with tiny mushrooms surrounding it. Suddenly a giant mushroom burst from the ground and landed in front of the group. Scanning the surroundings, its eyes happened to land on Omori.

“You! Bulbous one! Your eyes say that you yearn to learn!” The mushroom stated.

Aubrey looked at Omori’s eyes. They didn’t look like they yearned for anything...which was honestly kind of concerning. 

Just one more thing to talk to Sunny about she supposed.

“Excellent! Absolutely excellent! I shall teach you, come!” The mushroom motioned for Omori to come to him.

Omori walked forward and pointed to the bulb plant behind him, “You see, these plants hold creatures like me inside them. We, however, can’t escape by ourselves. With a very specific technique, you should be able to free us from these prisons!” 

“However, this technique might take years, even decades to learn!” The mushroom stated.

Decades? This would be a long sleep then...wait isn’t that a coma?

“Do you agree on learning the technique?” The mushroom asked. 

Omori nodded and walked to the bulb, easily breaking it and freeing the mushroom inside.

“Excellent! You already knew the technique! I knew you were a chosen one!” The mushroom beamed.

...Well, at least they weren’t trapped here for a decade…

“At last! I am free! Excellent! Here's a gift for you!” The mushroom handed Omori a dandelion.

Omori pocketed the dandelion before jumping on top of the mushroom and getting to the platform above it. Opening a watermelon he was able to get some Jam Packets. He jumped back down and went back to the group. He touched the mushroom in the ground behind them and they were back in the mini hedge maze next to the giant mushroom.

“Well, that was...something…” Hero muttered.

“Yep.” Kel nodded.

They jumped on top of the mushroom and over the hedge with the help of Hero and made it safely to the other side. 

They walked until they ran into a knight standing still in the hedges. Omori walked to the knight and it spoke, “There are four passwords that must be spoken to the Sweetheart statue to unveil the secret tunnel! As one of the elites, I was chosen to be given the third password,”

“Can we know it?” Kel asked.

“You want to know it? Uh, oh man, I am sorry. I’m not allowed to tell anyone…” The knight muttered the apology. 

“Damn.” Kel snapped his fingers.

Hero sighed and stepped up, activating the Hero charm, “I am sorry to inconvenience you, sir…” Hero trailed off.

“Alex! The Esteemed!” The knight introduced himself.

“Ah, sorry for the inconvenience sir Alex, but me and my friends really need that password of yours! Can you please let us know what it is?” Hero asked.

“...If you really need it that much...the password is ‘Filled’.” The knight muttered, “Now leave before I get in trouble!” 

“Will do, sir Alex!” Kel grinned as he and the others ran out of that part of the hedge maze. 

“So what do we have down?” Kel asked.

“He said he had the third password. So that means we need to find three more.” Hero stated.

“That means the code is something, something, filled, something,” Aubrey informed. 

“Alright, let’s get searching for the rest…” Hero sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waiting for something to happen?


	26. Sweetheart's Castle pt9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting the rest of the passwords.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never hated an area more in my life. I am so glad we are almost done with this place omg. Also, this one is a bit longer than the others.

The next stop was the lower hedge, or it was until Omori found a trapdoor and opened it. Climbing down they were greeted by a button that lowered some spikes nearby. Walking past the spikes they realized they were in the dungeon area again with Mari who was sitting peacefully on her picnic blanket. 

“Hey, guys!” Mari waved hello to the group before looking at Hero, “What’s cookin 'good lookin '!”

Hero blushed and covered his face with his hands despite his face being covered by the sprout mole mask. 

Aubrey felt bad for the guy. She knows that was one of Mari’s go-to phrases whenever she wanted to fluster Hero. She silently prays for his sanity.

“So, how have things been?” Mari asked the group.

“They didn’t notice I turned to toast while in battle…” Aubrey pretended to act upset just to tease everyone.

“Hey! In our defense, we were distracted!” Kel shouted.

“Toast eh? I have heard weird stories about being toast. Someone said they heard someone crying before they revived! Talk about spooky…” Mari informed the group, “I hope the person they heard crying is okay…”

…

_“I deserve it.”_

Aubrey shuttered, “That does sound scary…”

“Huh, when I was toast I didn’t hear anything.” Kel shrugged.

“When I was toast...I don’t think I heard anything as well, sorry to say.” Hero sighed, “What about you Aubrey?”

“I didn’t hear anything as well…” She lied. She doesn’t know why she is lying but she gets this bad feeling if she doesn’t...she rubbed her arm nervously, trying not to think about anything.

“Eh, it is probably just a rumor. I wouldn’t worry about it!” Mari smiled warmly. Aubrey lightly bit her lip as she remembered Basil’s voice in her head.

_“I deserve it.”_

Aubrey feels like she doesn’t want to know what he claims to deserve. Another part of her is a bit concerned. 

Geez, it is probably nothing but some weird dream shit. Big whoop.

Omori walked over to Mari and sat down by her, obviously as a breather. Aubrey doesn’t blame him for this has been one hell of a long night.

Kel also sat down near Omori, also clearly tired from everything going on. Once again, not a blame to be seen.

The silence was nice for a bit with Mari humming little tunes to brighten up the mood before Omori decided to get up once again, making the motion for everyone to follow him back out of the trapdoor. 

They went into the bottom right part of the hedge maze, finding yet another platform for Kel to chuck his ball at statues to break. At this point, Aubrey is pretty sure Kel enjoys doing that. She doesn’t blame him, causing property damage rules.

They found another knight standing in the hedges and Hero walked forward yet again.

“There are four passwords that must be spoken to the Sweetheart statue to unveil the secret tunnel! As one of the elites I was chosen to be given the first password.” The guard stared at Hero before smiling at him, “A wonderful day in the garden, isn’t it brothers and sisters?”

“Greetings sir…” Hero waited for the knight to introduce themselves. 

“Actually it is madam Carol, though I understand! The armor can make my voice sound pretty masculine!” The knight happily informed.

“Oh! My bad, madam Carol. I was wondering if we could know the password to the statue?” Hero asked politely.

“Ah! Do you wish to know the password? I apologize for I don’t think I can release that info.” The knight said solemnly, “However, I could have my mind changed if someone gave me a cube-shaped food that is very tasty~” She whispered.

Ah, a bribe? Well, it is a good thing she knows how to steal from people without anyone noticing.

“Tofu? Darn, guys do you remember getting-” “Don’t worry! I have tofu right here!” Aubrey handed the food to the mole to everyone's confusion. 

“Hehe~ Pleasure doing business with you! The password I was entrusted with is ‘Sweet’” The mole informed.

“P-Pleasure doing business with you as well madam Carol!” Hero gave a slight smile before walking away with the group.

“Where did you get that tofu?” Kel whispered curiously.

“...Stole it. No regrets.” Aubrey answered with a grin. Kim and Vance needed to learn their skills from someone...even if they aren’t that good at it.

“So far we have sweet, something, filled, something. I think we are doing well so far!” Hero smiled.

The group made their way to the top left of the hedges and repeated the process of Kel getting on a platform and destroying statues. Lucky, Aubrey wanted to break things as well. Oh well, maybe she’ll be able to destroy things later.

They ran into yet another guard, “There are four passwords that must be spoken to the Sweetheart statue to unveil the secret tunnel! As one of the elites I was chosen to be given the second password!”

“Let me guess, you want to know the password!” The guard shouted. Everyone nodded, hoping the guard would just hand it over.

“Well, not so fast! You won’t get it from me that easily!” The guard grinned, “You all seem awfully tall for sprout moles! How do I know if you are really one of us? Why would I spill the password to a spy?”

Shit. Why does there always seem to be a smart one in a group of four? 

She looked over at Hero. He was definitely the smart one in the group.

“Listen, I shall give you a chance! What am I thinking about right-” “Tofu.” The group chorused.

“...Mmmm tofu…. I apologize for doubting you! Guess there are all types of sprout moles out there!” The knight laughed, “My name is Brain and thine password I was granted with is ‘Jelly’! Do what you will with this info!”

So that would make the password sweet, jelly, filled...Aubrey had a feeling what the last one would be but decided not to tempt fate just in case.

The group made their way to the bottom left hedges and once again Kel got to destroy things. Good for him. 

They did notice one thing though while walking through the hedges. A trapdoor, covered in grass. Hero brushed off the dirt and opened it, allowing him and the whole group to climb inside. 

“Oh.” Were the only words that fell out of her mouth when she saw all the bears inside of the same cage, walking about as if it was absolutely no one's business. A button laid at the end of the hallway.

Aubrey had to resist the physical urge to push it and unleash the chaos. 

Kel didn’t resist however and he pressed the button.

“KEL!” 

That was what everyone minus Omori yelled as the bears came charging out of their cage. 

Well shit.

~~~~~~

Aubrey was toast yet again. 

Big surprise there, though to be honest they were doing sort of well. Until the second one that is. If she could, she would punch Kel right now.

She let out a huge internal groan to herself as she sat in the empty black void.

Oh shit, she could try out that idea she had. When she said Basil’s name last time she was here she was brought back to life!

Oooo what if she said his name again? Maybe it would-

_“I am useless. So useless. Why can’t I do anything right?”_

...What?

Once again, it seemed to be Basil’s voice. 

It was like a whisper yet so close.

She tried to strain her ears so she could hear him better.

_“...I am so pathetic…”_

What the hell is happening? Is Basil alright?

“Basil! Are you-”

...She wasn’t toast anymore. 

Seems like her theory is correct.

~~~~~~

“H-huh?” Basil looked around. There was that voice again, saying his name. 

_There is no one there._

Basil bit his lip. He knew he heard someone.

...Perhaps he should try to hold on, just a bit longer.

~~~~~~

The bears were dead and the whole group was panting for air. Even Omori seemed worn out.

“Kel...WHY?” Hero yelled at his brother.

“BIG SHINY BUTTON WAS TEMPTING!”

“Please don’t fight, being toast already gave me the worst headache I wished to experience…” Aubrey grumbled.

Her mind was still on Basil and what she heard while being toast. She can tell by looking at Hero he had something on his mind as well. 

Perhaps he heard Basil as well?

The group climbed out the trapdoor and were all grumbling. Omori made everyone walk back to Mari as she gave them more food to heal with.

“Gee, you guys look like zombies! What happened out there?” She asked.

Everyone pointed at Kel.

“I release a lot of bears…” He muttered.

Mari sighed, “Well, at least none of you are dead.”

“A bonus to be sure…” Hero grumbled.

The group exited Mari’s area and went back into the hedges and found the last knight mole they needed.

“There are four passwords that must be spoken to the Sweetheart statue to unveil the secret tunnel! As one of the elites I was chosen to be given the fourth password!” The knight stated before letting out a sigh, “But, ugh! I am supposed to hold on to this super-secret password right? But, it is about food so I am thinking about food all the time!” They complained.

“It makes me so hungry I have started to chew on grass! Grass! They should really start providing food to us guards out here! What kind of password is ‘Donut’ anyway? Like, this blue dude was using it as a pet name for Sweetheart! It ain’t even that good of a secret password! They would come back here and keep using stupid love names back and forth and-” Aubrey began to tune out the ranting mole.

She was right though on her prediction. The password is ‘Sweet Jelly-Filled Donut.’. She has to agree with the ranting mole. It is kind of predictable. 

“Whatever though, I am stuck here to guard with three other moles and they can barely keep a secret to save their lives! Sucks to be them!” The mole simply turned away from the group.

“...Mission accomplished?” Hero looked more confused than anything. 

Well, at least they can finally leave this hell hole of a hedge garden.


End file.
